Advocacy

Our Health Justice student advocates provide advocacy services to Wisconsinites facing life changing health events.

Apply for Advocacy Services

Our advocacy process

1. Contact us

You contact the Center via phone (608-890-0321) or our application. Our goal is to get back to you within 3 business days.

Person at a table with cell phone

2. We reach out to you and learn more about your needs

A student patient advocate will contact you to schedule a telephone appointment, usually within two or three business days. Plan for a 30-45 minute call. On the phone, we’ll identify key issues and whether our advocacy services are a good fit.

Group of professional students in discussion in chairs around a coffee table

3. We establish an advocacy relationship

If we all agree that our advocacy services would be a good fit, you will be partnered with a student advocate or team. Our advocacy relationships generally last between two to four months.

students around a computer

4. We help you reach your goals

We close your case when your issues are resolved, there is nothing more we can do, you are informed and empowered to handle things on your own or it is clear that our work together is done.

5. We Listen to Your Feedback and Make Our Services Better

We value feedback from clients and want to constantly improve our advocacy approaches. At the end of our advocacy partnership we invite feedback through a confidential survey.

Patient advocacy services

For over 20 years, we have been advocating for health justice, focusing on the highest needs we see.  While we have always helped people facing cancer, other needs have changed over time. We remain nimble to help as many people as possible access the health they need.

We have specifically been asked to help: address health-related legal issues arising from the COVID pandemic, appeal denials of medicaid coverage during the “Medicaid Unwinding” this year, and to help with insurance denials for those seeking gender affirming health care.

Advocates can help with things like:

  • Building a healthcare team
  • Seeking second opinions
  • Clarifying treatment options
  • Accessing insurance coverage
  • Navigating insurance appeals
  • Managing medical debt
  • Boosting care coordination
  • Communicating with providers, insurers, family members, and others
  • Writing a Power of Attorney for Health Care
  • Supporting transgender and gender non-conforming folx to get the care they need

We are Launching a Dedicated LGBTQ+ Health Justice Program

The LGBTQ+ Health Justice program – formally starting in February 2024 – will be a dedicated program of the Center’s Health Justice Clinic.  For the past two+ years we have partnered with the UW Health Gender Services Clinic to help their patients with insurance appeals, winning 80% of our cases.  The LGBTQ+ community continues to face barriers, with increased attacks on gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ rights. We now face waiting lists and see broader health advocacy and legal needs from the LGBTQ+ community.  Advocacy will include: fighting insurance companies; completing Power of Attorney for Healthcare paperwork to ensure decision making by chosen family; countering stigma in healthcare settings, and more.

We need your support to fund this work and have an ongoing Match Challenge!  Every dollar counts!! Please give today!

We are a small educational center and, while we make every effort to serve our clients right away, there may be times when you experience a short delay in the process. We do our best to prioritize urgent cases—please tell us if you believe your case is time sensitive.  If we determine we are not the best advocacy resource to address your concerns, we will provide referrals to appropriate community resources whenever possible.

We understand that for many people this is a chaotic time for you and we appreciate all the more you reaching out to us. We look forward to assisting you on your health care journey.

“We help people with life changing health events get the care they need and find their way while the storm is raging outside.”

-Meg Gaines, Founder