IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County Healthcare System (DCHS) has appointed Cheri Carlson as its financial counseling supervisor. Carlson has been with DCHS since 2013 and has experience in many financial counseling areas including Medicaid screening, patient drug and co-pay assistance, and working with uninsured and underinsured patients.

Her new role allows her to spend one-on-one time with patients to help them better understand their health benefits. Better understanding can reduce and sometimes even eliminate patient financial burden.

“Our goal is to sit down with a patient prior to receiving services and create a plan that will maximize their coverage and eliminate unnecessary out of pocket spending. The Financial Counselors and I are here to help our community members manage their financial health as part of receiving the medical services they need,” she said.f financial counseling options offered at DCHS.

The DCHS Financial Counseling team is comprised of five patient financial specialists each experienced to offer a wide variety of support to patients. The team guides patients through the screening and application process for Medicaid as well as the Charity Care program; provides patients with updated market place insurance information; and helps identify copayment assistance for higher-priced pharmaceuticals.