+About Us
When consumer advocate Pat Palmer formed MBAA in June 1997, her goal was simple: strengthen the networking possibilities of businesses established to review medical billing errors and correct insurance mistakes. After spending 11 years working to solve the growing problems with medical billing and the millions of errors that went undetected, Pat had founded Medical Recovery Service, Inc., a research company, in Salem, Virginia in 1994. Within six months, she received calls from individuals and companies in more than 30 states. She saw errors hit people hardest when it hurt the most, often when they were recuperating and unable to work. Even people with insurance often pay all or part of their medical expenses out of pocket.
Since medical billing research and advocacy was—and continues to be—a relatively new field, strong evidence underscored the need for an interactive network to support the growing number of individuals and businesses looking for assistance. That's why in June 1997 Medical Billing Advocates of America was born and began to offer this business opportunity as a helping hand for others around the country. .
Palmer was often asked what inspired her to become a consumer advocate, and her reply is always the same. She believes it was her destiny. Her personal experiences overcoming the many obstacles and difficulties in correcting her own family's bills convinced her that the greatest service she could provide the public would be to insure that others would only pay their fair share when it came to medical bills.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Pat Palmer's passion and desires to help right the wrong in "out of control" healthcare cost continues through her daughters, Candice Butcher, President and CEO and Christie Hudson, Vice President and COO of Medical Billing Advocates of America Inc.
MBAA receives national publicity as a leading expert in the field of detecting medical billing errors and overcharges. MBAA has been featured on NBC Nightly News, ABC’s Prime Time Live, NBC’s Dateline and CNN. MBAA has done many interviews and has been quoted by national publications, including Newsweek, Modern Maturity, Self, Consumer Reports, Money Magazine, Reader’s Digest, National Enquirer, Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, and numerous radio shows and news segments. The press continues to seek Medical Billing Advocates of Americas’s advice today, as the healthcare crisis continues and grows in America.