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Passport 55 helps seniors with medical bills

Hospital service celebrates 20 years of working through red tape

05 / 15 / 2007

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OSHKOSH, Wis. – Last fall, Margaret and Elwin Kalmerton were at wits end. Margaret had suffered a number of illnesses and the Oshkosh couple started getting inundated with medical bills.

Margaret was on the mend, but she was not well enough to deal with deciphering the hospital bills and insurance paperwork, and determine what needed to be paid. “I was not able to do it myself,” Margaret recalls. “We had such a hard time keeping everything straight.”

Then, she heard about Passport 55, a program offered by Mercy Medical Center and Affinity Health System. The program helps people over 55 with the complicated paperwork involved with medical bills and insurance companies.

“I brought in a large grocery bag filled with bills and insurance paperwork,” Margaret said. “The counselors at Passport 55 helped us get through everything. It was the best thing we ever did.”

Among the services offered by Passport 55:

• Work with seniors to help them understand their insurance coverage, including Medicare.
• Advocate on behalf of members to ensure collection of all insurance benefits and verify what balance the client is responsible for and when requested, write checks.
• Assistance with Medicare and insurance appeals.

Passport 55 has more than 2,500 members enrolled in the program since it began in 1987. “A former Mercy administrator felt there was a need in the community to offer this type of service,” said Diane Griffin, a Passport 55 counselor. “The program was originally for Mercy patients with Mercy bills but quickly developed into this full-service program where we assist our clients with all or any clinic and hospital bills,” Griffin said.

Today, the staff of two counselors meets with seniors, or with the families of senior parents, from around the country, including as far away as Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Florida. “Some families will come in with paperwork after a parent dies and asks us to settle any of the outstanding issues,” Griffin says.

“It’s a gratifying job,” says Lisa Rhyner, Passport 55 counselor. “We’re counselors, advocates, investigators and most of all, friends to our clients.”

“The entire staff really made a big difference for us,” says Margaret Kalmerton.

Passport 55 will celebrate its 20^th anniversary with an open house from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16, in the Passport 55 office at Mercy Medical Center.

To become a Passport 55 member, there is an initial membership fee of $60, with an annual renewal rate of $40. The program is partially funded through the Mercy Health Foundation.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is ranked 24 among the top 100 integrated health care networks nationwide (Verispan 2008). Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 37th among the 250 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 23 family practice and specialty clinics in 13 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.