Associated Press --

After three surgeries, Judy Sherer still had chronic pain in her left shoulder. She'd lost faith in her doctors and in despair tried a new health benefit offered by her employer.

The service, Health Advocate, is a call-in center that helps customers find the right doctor, haggle over insurance coverage and manage other medical system headaches.

An advocate helped Sherer find a new surgeon, one who found metal shavings left in her shoulder by a previous doctor. The advocate also negotiated the charge for her physical therapy down to $40 per visit from the $200 she was quoted initially.

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