Wisconsin Patient Advocates
A Wisconsin patient advocate is a trained professional who handles the coordination, paperwork, and phone calls around your care, covered by Medicare. Careway advocates work with patients across Wisconsin by phone and video, from Milwaukee and Madison to Green Bay and the rural north.
What is different about getting help here
Wisconsin's ADRCs are a genuine advantage
Wisconsin runs Aging and Disability Resource Centers in every county, and they are one of the better front doors to long-term care help in the country. They are also the step most families skip because nobody told them it existed.
- Points families to their county ADRC and helps them prepare for that conversation
- Follows up on what the ADRC recommends rather than leaving it as a to-do
- Coordinates between the ADRC, your doctors, and your coverage
Long-term care through Family Care and IRIS
Wisconsin offers two routes to long-term care support: Family Care, which is managed, and IRIS, which is self-directed. The choice is real and consequential, and it is explained to most families exactly once.
- Explains the practical difference between the two options
- Screens for BadgerCare Plus and the Medicare Savings Programs
- Helps work through applications and follows up on them
Free help with Medicare and Medigap questions
Wisconsin's Board on Aging and Long Term Care runs a Medigap Helpline offering free, unbiased help with Medicare and supplemental coverage questions. Wisconsin also has its own supplemental insurance rules that differ from most states.
Distance and winter
For much of Wisconsin, the specialist is in Milwaukee or Madison and the drive is long, especially in February. Transportation and telehealth are not conveniences here, they determine whether care happens.
- Finds transportation programs through county aging offices
- Arranges telehealth where a visit does not require being in the room
- Groups appointments so one trip covers more than one visit
Programs your advocate helps you reach
These are run by Wisconsin and its counties, not by Careway. Your advocate helps you find out whether you qualify and works through the applications with you.
Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)
County-based centers that are Wisconsin's front door to long-term care, in-home help, and benefits counseling.
Official site ➞Board on Aging and Long Term Care Medigap Helpline
Free, unbiased help with Medicare and supplemental insurance questions from the state's long-term care ombudsman agency.
Official site ➞BadgerCare Plus and Wisconsin Medicaid
State health coverage that can pay Medicare cost-sharing for people who qualify and cover services Medicare does not.
Official site ➞Family Care and IRIS
Wisconsin's two long-term care options: Family Care is managed, and IRIS lets participants direct their own services and budget.
Official site ➞Where Wisconsin patients get their care
Records do not move between these on their own. When your doctors are in more than one, your advocate is the one making sure each has the current picture.
- Froedtert
- Aurora Health Care
- UW Health
- Ascension Wisconsin
- SSM Health
- Marshfield Clinic Health System
- Gundersen Health System
Advocates across Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Patient advocates for Milwaukee seniors, covered by Medicare. Help navigating Froedtert, Aurora, and Ascension care in Milwaukee County.
Read more ➞Madison
Patient advocates for Madison seniors, covered by Medicare. Help navigating UW Health, SSM Health, and Dane County services.
Read more ➞Green Bay
Patient advocates for Green Bay seniors, covered by Medicare. Help navigating Bellin, Aurora, and HSHS care in Brown County.
Read more ➞Kenosha
Patient advocates for Kenosha seniors, covered by Medicare. Help navigating Froedtert Pleasant Prairie, Aurora, and Kenosha County services.
Read more ➞Racine
Patient advocates for Racine seniors, covered by Medicare. Help navigating Ascension All Saints, Aurora, and Racine County services.
Read more ➞Questions from Wisconsin
Yes. Medicare's care management programs are Medicare-covered services available to eligible patients in Wisconsin. If you have a Medigap policy or Medicaid, your standard coinsurance may be fully covered.
Not necessarily, and it rarely matters. Your advocate works with you by phone and video, and is familiar with the coverage rules, programs, and health systems in your state. There is no office to travel to.
An Aging and Disability Resource Center is your county's front door to long-term care and in-home help, and it is worth calling. An advocate helps you prepare for that conversation and follows up on what comes out of it.
Family Care is a managed long-term care program where an organization coordinates your services. IRIS is self-directed, meaning you direct your own services and budget. An advocate can explain how each would work for your situation.
Yes. Advocates find transportation programs through county aging offices, arrange telehealth where it is appropriate, and group appointments so a single trip covers more than one visit.
Wisconsin is one of a few states with its own approach to Medicare supplemental insurance rather than the standard lettered plans. The state's Medigap Helpline offers free, unbiased help with those questions, and an advocate can point you there.
Talk to someone who can take this on
Checking whether you qualify takes a couple of minutes. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you plainly.
Covered by Medicare. If you have a supplemental policy (Medigap) or Medicaid, your standard coinsurance may be fully covered.