How patient advocacy works
A patient advocate is a trained professional who handles the parts of healthcare that are not the medical care itself: appointments, records, insurance paperwork, prescription costs, and the phone calls nobody has time to make. At Careway the advocate is supported by a care team that includes a physician, which is what allows the service to be covered by Medicare.
What happens, in order
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1
You meet with a Careway doctor
The first visit is a conversation about your health history, what has been confusing or frustrating, and what you want to be different. It establishes the care relationship that everything after it runs through.
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2
You are matched with your advocate
You get one advocate who learns your situation and stays with you. You are not calling a general line and starting over each time, which is the single biggest difference people notice.
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3
You decide together what to work on first
Most people arrive with something specific: a denied claim, a specialist they cannot get into, a pile of bills, a parent who needs more help than the family can give. That becomes the starting point.
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4
The work continues between appointments
Your advocate keeps going in the weeks between visits: chasing authorizations, moving records, following up on referrals, and checking in. Most of what matters happens between appointments, which is exactly where the system usually goes quiet.
What an advocate does
- Books appointments and keeps one calendar across every practice
- Requests and moves records between doctors and hospitals
- Tracks referrals and prior authorizations to a decision
- Reviews bills and appeals denied claims
- Screens for programs that reduce prescription and living costs
- Finds specialists who are accepting new Medicare patients
- Arranges transportation and connects you to community resources
- Prepares questions before visits and plain-language notes afterward
What an advocate does not do
- An advocate does not diagnose conditions or interpret symptoms
- An advocate does not recommend, prescribe, or adjust medications or treatments
- An advocate does not perform exams or provide hands-on care
- An advocate does not make medical decisions for you
- An advocate does not replace any doctor you already have
Questions about how this works
Not quite. A case manager is usually employed by a hospital or a health plan and works within it. A Careway advocate works for you across every doctor, hospital, pharmacy, and insurer involved in your care.
Medicare covers advocacy as a service delivered by a care team under a physician's direction. The physician relationship is what makes the coverage work, and it means clinical questions have a clinician attached to them.
Most people speak with their advocate at least monthly, and more often when something is happening such as a hospital stay or a new diagnosis. The rhythm follows what you need.
No. You keep every doctor you have. Your advocate works alongside them and does not replace anyone on your care team.
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.