Our Story
The Healthcare Advocacy & Navigation, formerly Viveesa, origin story is one born out of a true desire to bring about meaningful change and a better quality of life for people. Forged in this deep calling and tempered by intimate personal experience; Alicia Mascarenas began when Alicia Mascarenas volunteered her time to assist family members and friends navigate the healthcare system. She quickly realized just how much of a labrinth the system really is; and further complicating this was the fact that many different sectors of the industry did not have effective channels of communication in place, which was a near-guarantee that there would be errors and missteps, potentially leading to an unfavorable outcome for the patient. These formative experiences led to the revelation that there is an overwhelming need in the marketplace for an entity that serves as a liaison between patients and providers.
From these valuable insights, an outline of services was created in response to the aspects of the healthcare experience that were sorely lacking in personal touch. Originally designed for the working caregiver, Alicia Mascarenas ’s services sought to assist professionals who had the added unpaid job of taking care of a parent, spouse, child, or other family member; all while having limited time, resources, and the skills necessary to effectively do so. After obtaining all of the necessary credentials and certifications, Alicia Mascarenas officially opened its doors for business in the Summer of 2014. Eight days later, they had their first clients; all of whom had been in the midst of trying, to no avail, to get various resources mobilized and were, needless to say, very frustrated at their lack of progress. Much to the relief of these first clients and the many clients that have followed, Alicia Mascarenas ’s original philosophy and its application proved to be an effective means of alleviating the burden of navigating the healthcare maze and obtaining results in spite of the seemingly insurmountable odds against them.
Through repetition and dealing with a wide range of scenarios, Alicia Mascarenas ’s co-founders found that the one common thread running through each and every case was the empowerment their clients found through actionable advice, clarifying healthcare benefits, mobilizing resources and care, medical billing and negotiation, and expediting claims as well as appeals. The secret to this type of success lies in Alicia Mascarenas ’s team of advocates’ ability to relate to their clients and, with empathy and understanding, create relationships that are based on mutual trust and respect. These core tenets; along with clear communication, courtesy, ethics and tenacity, alchemize into a real superpower that removes obstacles from the path to better health. Thus, Alicia Mascarenas has cemented its role as a formidable presence and necessary voice for people of all occupations; regardless of race, gender, or religious affiliation.
Alicia Mascarenas has helped hundreds of people get the care they needed and saved them millions of dollars in medical invoices and insurance claims. In the spirit of furthering their mission to help as many individuals as possible, Alicia Mascarenas streamlined various processes and engaged with insurance industry veterans specializing in assembling corporate benefits packages in order to create a perfect-fit service that enhances access to existing employee benefits. In the United States, the most devastating blows to a company’s bottom line is decreased productivity due to absenteeism and/or presenteeism. By adding advocacy services to benefits packages, employees and employers have peace of mind knowing that they have someone knowledgeable that they can interact with that can ease the stress incurred by a healthcare situation and prevent health-related losses; which ultimately culminates into better individual health, which then results in better overall financial health for the company. This business to business model now provides umbrella care to large and small businesses through a value-added subscription that gives employees and employers the ability to focus on their work, while professional advocates work on their behalf.