Board-Certified Patient Advocate • Certified Senior Advisor® • Founder of The Patient Advocate Agency​

 

Cindy Johnson is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate and Certified Senior Advisor® with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, patient advocacy, medical billing support, and senior care. As the founder and CEO of The Patient Advocate Agency, Cindy helps individuals and families navigate complex healthcare issues, resolve medical billing and insurance problems, and coordinate care for chronic and serious medical conditions.

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Her work is trusted by patients, seniors, physicians, care facilities, and families across Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley, Southern California, and nationwide through virtual advocacy.

 

A Career Built on Healthcare Experience — and Personal Understanding

 

Cindy began her professional journey in nursing at Princeton Medical Center, specializing in oncology. Her work later grew into medical education, where she developed deep insight into:

• How medical decisions are made

• How patients fall through the cracks

• The communication gaps between specialists

• The overwhelming nature of insurance, billing, and hospital systems

 

Her path took a deeply personal turn when her daughter faced a complex and frightening medical condition. Navigating countless specialists, treatments, insurance requirements, and denials opened Cindy’s eyes to how difficult and isolating the healthcare system can be — even for someone with medical training.

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That experience became the driving force behind the Patient Advocate Agency. Today, Cindy uses both her clinical background and personal journey to provide the compassion, clarity, and guidance she wished she had during her family’s crisis.

 

Specializing in Medical Billing, Insurance Claims & Appeals

 

Cindy is widely recognized for her expertise in medical billing advocacy and insurance navigation — a major source of frustration for patients. She helps clients:

• Identify medical billing errors

• Dispute incorrect charges

• Resolve duplicate or unexpected bills

• Obtain insurance pre-authorizations

• File and manage insurance claims

• Handle denials and write successful appeals

• Reduce out-of-pocket costs

• Communicate with insurance companies on their behalf

 

Most people don’t realize that 40–80% of medical bills contain errors. Cindy’s intervention has saved clients thousands of dollars and helped them secure the coverage they’re entitled to.

 

Expert in Complex Medical Care, Care Coordination & Senior Advocacy

 

Cindy’s second area of expertise is supporting clients with complex or chronic medical conditions. She ensures that every part of a patient’s care — doctors, specialists, tests, treatments, medications, and insurance — is coordinated, understood, and followed through.

She specializes in helping clients with:

• Chronic illnesses

• New, serious, or complicated diagnoses

• Multiple specialists who don’t communicate

• Hospital stays and unsafe discharges

• Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, and cognitive decline

• Cancer treatment navigation

• Aging parents living alone

• Seniors needing ongoing oversight or advocacy

 

Her comprehensive care coordination includes:

• Accompanying clients to appointments

• Speaking with physicians and specialists

• Reviewing treatment plans and medical records

• Ensuring continuity of care

• Communicating with family members

• Arranging transportation and follow-up appointments

• Coordinating hospital-to-home or facility transitions

 

Cindy ensures that no patient is left to manage healthcare alone.

 

Professional Integrity, Credentials & Community Involvement

 

Cindy practices with strict ethical and professional standards as required by:

• Patient Advocate Certification Board (PACB)

• Society of Certified Senior Advisors (CSA)

She is an active member of:

• Alliance of Professional Health Advocates

• Greater National Advocates

• National Association of Health Advocate Consultants

 

She also serves as a Community Educator for The Care Partner Project, teaching families how to prevent medical errors and advocate for their loved ones.

 

A Trusted Guide Through the Most Overwhelming Moments

 

Cindy’s clients describe her as patient, knowledgeable, deeply compassionate, and relentlessly dedicated. Whether a family needs help understanding a diagnosis, battling insurance, choosing a care facility, coordinating treatment, or handling a medical crisis, Cindy is there — turning fear into clarity and confusion into direction.

Her mission is simple:

To protect patients, support families, and make healthcare understandable, manageable, and fair.