Consumer Health Advocates at Legal Aid Society of San Diego's Consumer Center for Health Education and Advocacy ("Consumer Center")

The Consumer Center provides free health advocacy services to San Diegans. The Consumer Center helps San Diegans obtain and maintain coverage, and to overcome barriers to accessing needed care. The Consumer Center has no income and asset limitations, and legal services are free. Feel free to refer your patients - 1-877-734-3258.

The Consumer Center can help dental and orthodonture patients access needed care. Health advocates and attorneys assist consumers overcome a variety of challenges:

• Medi-Cal Dental:
  • Medi-Cal eligibility challenges (e.g. denials, terminations, redeterminations, etc.)
  • Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) delays, denials, and deferrals.
  • State Fair Hearing appeals and Medi-Cal dental complaints
  • Asserting children's right to the more expansive EPSDT standards
  • Overcoming barriers to accessing needed specialty services or needed facilities (e.g. operating rooms, ambulatory surgical centers, etc.) within the Medi-Cal program.
  • Failures of DHCS/Gainwell care coordination and/or Medi-Cal managed care plan care managers (e.g. ECM or CCM) to meaningfully engage patients.
  • Inappropriate billing and quality concerns
• Other Managed Care:
  • Overcome pre-authorization request denials and delays.
  • Inappropriate billing
  • Internal plan appeals and grievances, and Department of Managed Health Care complaints and Independent Medical Reviews.