Health & Medical (Texas)

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Health & Medical
Doctors & Health Care
Medicine & Treatments
Insurance & Benefits (Includes Medicaid & SSI)
Medical Directives/Living Wills

Related Topics

Children
Disabilities
Government
Insurance
Lawyers, Courts & Self Help
Seniors
State Licensing Boards
The Work Place
Wills & Probate

Doctors & Health Care

Doctors	Managed Care (HMOs, Hospitals, etc.)
Medical Bills	Rules, Regulations & Complaints

Medicines & Treatments

Traditional	Medicine Recalls
Alternative	Clinical Trials

Insurance & Benefits

Health & Life	Workers Compensation
Medicare/Medicaid	Insurance Regs. & Complaints
Social Security	Where Else To Go For Help

Managed Care (HMOs, PPOs, etc.)
Choosing A Health Plan
Getting Top Care/Complaints
Where Else To Go For Help

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Choosing A Health Plan
There are many things to consider when choosing a health plan. Some of these include, the plan's comprehensiveness, i.e. what the plan covers, the cost of this coverage, the limits on your choice of doctors or hospitals and the complaint record of each provider.

FAQs, Tips & Advice
Profiles For Health Plans, Doctors & Hospitals
Referral Agencies

FAQs, Tips & Advice

Your Health Care Coverage (Texas)
Basics on HMOs, PPOs and Fee For Service Plans.
Other topics include, pre-existing conditions/Previous Medical History, Limitations, Benefits, Claims and Billing Complaints Handling, Loss of Coverage and fraud.

HMO Resource Page (Texas)
Choosing an HMO, complaint summaries against HMOs and plenty of informational brochures, links and contact numbers.

FAQs On Health Maintenance Organizations (Texas)
Choosing an HMO, HMO limitations, protections for HMO members and filing complaints.

Choosing Quality Medical Care (Tips)

The Ten Commandments for HMOs
A list of questions consumers should ask when choosing a HMOs.

How To Choose A Health Plan (Summary with lots of other links.)

Choosing An HMO (BBB)

HMO Resource Page (Texas)
Choosing an HMO, complaint summaries against HMOs and plenty of informational brochures, links and contact numbers.

www.healthgrades.com
Free profiles on 600,000 doctors, 5,000 hospitals, 400 health plans, 17,000 nursing homes and more. Learn about the doctor's specialties, years in practice, instances of misconduct, and ratings by their patients.

Hospitals-The Top Ones In Each State (U.S. News & World Report)
Once you've found the best Hospitals in your state for your condition, choose a plan with doctors who have privileges to work in these hospitals.

American Hospital Directory
The site will provide a detailed report on the hospital's characteristics, financial reports, costs, and specialties. This directory can be searched by hospital name, city, state, area code and zip code. Click on the icon for "free services", and to gain entry to the sections accept the liability statement.

United Way Help Line (For All 50 States, DC & Puerto Rico)
Choose your state, select your city, and look up help agencies galore!!! Their stellar search engine can lead you to any social service topic you can think of. Just type in the words "Health" and either "Managed Care" or "HMO".

HMO Resource Page (Texas)
Choosing an HMO, complaint summaries against HMOs and plenty of informational brochures, links and contact numbers.

Health Care Coverage Options for Texas Children

Health Care Coverage for Texas Children

Healthcare For The Uninsured (Texas)
In Texas, each non-profit hospital is required to provide a certain amount of free health care to people who have no health insurance, or cannot afford to pay for hospital care.

Contacts On Medicaid, Children's Health & Managed Care.
For state-by-state- information on the above, select your state from their drop box and hit "GO".

Health Care Choices
For more information on doctors and hospitals, e-mail this consumer-advocate group.

Getting Top Care/Complaints
FAQs, Tips & Advice
Where To Get Help (Patient Advocates)

FAQs, Tips & Advice

FAQs On Health Maintenance Organizations (Texas)
HMO, HMO limitations, protections for HMO members and filing complaints.

Making Healthcare Agencies Publicly Accountable
Articles and links on how to make your healthcare agency accountable and where you to get help when they won't cooperate.

Health Care Quality-Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Fighting Insurance Companies When They Deny Your Claim
How to protect yourself, establish contacts, gather allies and write your appeals and grievance letters.

How To Avoid A Health Insurance Claim denial—And What To Do When You Can't
Tips, advice and appeals form letters.

Informal Guide To Appealing Health Insurance Claims
Advice from a regular guy who took on his HMO and won.

Where To Get Help (Advocates)

Where To Complain To (Texas)
Toll free numbers to call when you have problems concerning, health care, abuse, children, disabilities, discrimination, insurance, housing, lawyers, Medicaid, nursing homes, public benefits, and more.

Independent Review Organizations (Texas)
If a health insurer or health maintenance organization (HMO) refuses to pay for a treatment it considers medically unnecessary or inappropriate, you may be able to have an Independent Review Organization (IRO) review the decision. The IRO´s decision is binding on the health care plan, which pays for the review.

FAQs On Health Maintenance Organizations (Texas)
Choosing an HMO, HMO limitations, protections for HMO members and filing complaints.

Keeping Your Medical Records Private
Know what protections and rights you have and what you can do if you believe they have been violated.

Where To Report A Complaint Against Your Health Care Provider (All 50 States & DC)

Regulators Governing Health & Ins. Plans (All 50 States & DC)
For Both Managed Care Plans and Fee For Service Plans.

Rules, Regulations & Complaints (Consumer-SOS)

Patient Advocacy Links
Scroll down the page for organizations that can help you in your battle against your provider.

Find Your Local Newspaper, Magazine, Radio & TV Stations
Give them a little bad press and you're bargaining power increases tremendously. Select Texas, and then click on your county or city for the proper media to report to. (DC Not Included).

Where Else To Go For Help

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Doctors
Finding & Choosing
Talking To Your Doctor
Complaints

Finding & Choosing
FAQs Tips & Advice
Finding By Specialty
Doctor Profiles & Credentials

FAQs Tips & Advice

Choosing A Doctor (General Tips)
For a checklist of what to consider, click Here

Other Helpful Links (Consumer-SOS)
Relating to help for the poor, doctor accountability and patient education.

Certified Doctor Locator Service (All 50 States & DC)
To locate a board certified physician by geographic area and specialty.

AMA Physician Select
Look up physicians by name or by state and medical specialty to find their address, educational background, gender, and
specialty.

www.bestdoctors.com
Boasts a database supposedly made up of 30,000 of America's top-rated doctors.

Find A Doctor (National)
Search by name, Zip code or metropolitan area.

Doctor Profiles & Credentials

Verifying If A Doctor's Been Disciplined (Consumer-SOS)
Check your state's medical licensing board to see if your doctor has been disciplined. This is also where you can file complaints.

Profiles For Health Plans, Doctors & Hospitals (Consumer-SOS)
Having good doctors is not enough. To have access to the latest equipment, make sure they have privileges to work in the best hospitals.

ABMS Website
Find out about your doctor's credentials. Type in "Bruce
Bagley," for instance, and you'll learn that the president of
the American Academy of Family Physicians is indeed
certified in family practice.

The American Board Of Medical Specialties
Details on who treats what and to find out whether the doctor has been disciplined. To see if your doctor has lost any malpractice suits, check the local courts.

Other Helpful Links (Consumer-SOS)
Relating to help for the poor, doctor accountability and patient education.

Talking To Your Doctor

What To Ask & Tell Your Doctor (Consumer-SOS)
Basics on preparing for your meeting, writing things down and getting feedback from your doctor.

Talking With Your Doctor
Geared for seniors or the terminally ill, the site tells you the basics on how to make the most of your visit.

What To Ask Your Doctor Before Office Surgery

Getting Top Care From Your Doctor
What to ask about your condition, treatments, tests and more.

Making The Most Of Your Medical Visit

Medical Bills

Healthcare For The Uninsured (Texas)
In Texas, each non-profit hospital is required to provide a certain amount of free health care to people who have no health insurance, or cannot afford to pay for hospital care.

Medical Billing Advocates To Help Cut Down Healthcare Costs (Consumer-SOS)

Fighting Insurance Companies When They Deny Your Claim
How to protect yourself, establish contacts, gather allies and write your appeals and grievance letters.

Patient Financial Assistance Programs 888-477-2669

Insurance For Seniors (Consumer-SOS)
Medicare, choosing insurance, long term care, fraud and getting help.

Patient Advocacy Links

United Way Help Line (For all 50 States, DC & Puerto Rico)
Choose Texas, select your city, and look up help agencies galore!!!
Their stellar search engine can lead you to any social service topic you can think of. Just type in the words "medical bills" and "assistance"

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Medical Billing Advocates
Billing advocates negotiate with healthcare providers and insurance companies to lower your medical bills, or increase what they'll pay for your expenses. Savings can be in the thousands of dollars. Some charge by the hour, others bill based on what they saved you in costs. Some may even be free.

The Patient Advocate Foundation
Negotiates medical bills and insurance for those with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening conditions.

Medical Billing Advocates of America
Online directory of more than 30 services around the country that specialize in individual cases. Has patient guide for detecting overcharges, billing errors and insurance underpayments.

For more help Google Medical Billing Advocates (and the name of your state or city).

PRESCRIPTION HELP

Check Walmart and Sam's for Their $4.00 Generic Drug List (All States)

ACRX Prescription Card (All States)
Offers 40-60% off generic and name brand drugs. One card will take care of a whole family. Cards are good at 50K stores from Walgreen, Walmart, Eckerd's Droger, K Mart, Publix, and many others.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance (All States-1-888-477-2669)
Many of the prescription drug programs listed by the Partnership offer free or low-price medicines. Each medicine savings program has its own guidelines. These are prescription assistance programs offered by drug companies, states, and other resources. If you're in need, fill out their Hardship Form.

Together Rx Access 1-800-444-4106 (50 States & DC, PR)
See their Site Map for more details.

Rules, Regulations & Complaints

Summary Of Medical Malpractice Laws (DC & All 50 States)
Excellent!!!

Keeping Your Medical Records Private
Know what protections and rights you have and what you can do if you believe they have been violated.

Complaints Against Doctors, Health Plans, Insurers & More (Consumer-SOS)

Complaints

Free Lawyers For People With Low Incomes (Texas)
Click on the letter(s) below that correspond to the first letter(s) of the County you are searching for, then scroll down or use your browser's "Find" feature to jump straight to that County.

Complaints Against Your Doctor (Consumer-SOS)

Complaints Against Your Health Plan (Consumer-SOS)
Takes you to Getting Top Care/Complaints.

Insurance Related Complaints (Consumer-SOS)
Takes you to Consumer-SOS/Insurance for where to complaint to, insurance regulators and where to get help for almost every insurance issue.

Report Adverse Reactions & Medical Product
Problems To the FDA

Find Your Local Newspaper, Magazine, Radio & TV Stations
Give them a little bad press and you're bargaining power increases tremendously. Select Texas, and then click on your county or city for the proper media to report to. (DC Not Included).

Patient Advocacy Links

Where Else To Go For Help

For More See Occupational Licensing Boards

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