Quote:
Originally Posted by dbussone
If I were you, I would call and ask. Then it's no longer a mystery.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
|
I asked a couple of weeks ago at the Colony facility. They would not confirm or deny that there would be a change coming up in the next enrollment period. Then they invited me to speak to the UHC rep, who did the same while trying to sell me on the plan. I requested and got a call from the manager of the Colony facility who also would/could not provide a definite answer to my question.
IMO, the VHS system was and is unsustainable if they have to rely on reimbursement rates for specific procedures and keep panel sizes down. That is why they are pushing patients to the advantage plan where they have a known sum of money to manage their patients and keep each physician's patient volume optimal.
My wife and I have been tossing the question around whether to stay with VHS using the UHC plan or continue with straight Medicare and TFL. I spoke to a rep from Tricare and was assured switching to the UHC plan had no effect on my TFL except that I lose the pharmacy coverage. And was assured that in the event I dropped the UHC plan at the next enrollment period and reverted to Medicare, all I had to do was contact TFL and let them know so my pharmacy coverage would resume.
We really enjoy the access to care at VHS. If I call, I get in soon. When I have an appointment, I am called in on time or shortly thereafter. Very different from my experience taking my mom to her appointments. It's not unusual to wait 40, 50 minutes or more past the appointment time to be seen. That's because provider reimbursement has been the main area hacked in efforts to slow the growth of health care spending. As a result, overbooking is the norm. Thus the long waits.