[spuds51]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

Get Medicare A and B along with Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield supplemenr F. Also sign up for Medicare prescription drug plan D. You should be fine.

Good advice but don't worry too much about what insurance co carries your supplement plan as they are standardized. Meaning a plan F from this company is the same as one from another. Get the cheapest one.

[villagetinker]

Maybe all 15,000 letter recipients should contact their PC doctors and tell them they are considering leaving, or call VHS and tell them their concerns. I am sure the loss of 15,000 patients would get their attention.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Maybe all 15,000 letter recipients should contact their PC doctors and tell them they are considering leaving, or call VHS and tell them their concerns. I am sure the loss of 15,000 patients would get their attention.

I'm not so sure.

I think they would just go ahead and turn it into a standard health system, whereby they accept most any insurance (with the possible exception of Medicare) and then do anything necessary to turn a profit.

Which (you heard it here first ), I think they will be doing within 5 years anyway.

[kennyboy]

I am concerned because the hospitals in the united health care advantage plan are not highly rated! Additionally,if you want to go to the top cancer hospitals,you are out of luck!They aren't in network either. Finally, you are at the mercy of bean counters to get necessary referrals.I know this because I am a former med mal defense atty.

[RedChariot]

Originally Posted by zendog3

"July 12, 2016 --We are more committed than ever to keep our innovative model and maintain the level of excellence we've established. Because our superior care best aligns with Medicare Advantage, we have decided to no longer accept Original Medicare wath a traditional Medicare Supplemental policy for all new and existing patients starting Jan 1 2017. this means that as of next year, you will need to be enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan to remain a patient with The Villages Health."

What irks me most of all, is their marketing that sold The Villages Health as Marcus Welby medicine where the bond between the patient and the physician was the ultimate value. This is all about $$$$. There is nothing in there letter about "We are sorry, we know you trusted us, and formed a relationship with your physican but we need more profit than the existing model will generate so we are breaking our agreement with you. And, by the way, you know the Marcus Welby pitch was only a marketing ploy and not a statement of our values, didn't you?"

My husband and I just got the "dear John" letter.We have all been duped! We did trust them. Fell for the Marcus Welby hogwash. We cannot join their advantage plan due to pension rules. So after 4 years we are thrown out. Here within a short distance are all these nice health care facilities we will not be able to use even though we purchased a home here and live here full time. Where did the monies for these health facilities come from. Did our home purchases contribute to paying for them? And now I can't use them. This is just so wrong in so many ways.

[perrjojo]

My son is a physican and he interviewed with the Villages health care a few years ago. He has been in a solo private practice for 20 years and his comment was that while the concept is good it could not be work due to low patient loads. He just didn't see that it could be profitable. This has nothing to do with greed. It is just plain old business. A medical practice must generate enough income to sustain itself.

[trichard]

Originally Posted by perrjojo

My son is a physican and he interviewed with the Villages health care a few years ago. He has been in a solo private practice for 20 years and his comment was that while the concept is good it could not be work due to low patient loads. He just didn't see that it could be profitable. This has nothing to do with greed. It is just plain old business. A medical practice must generate enough income to sustain itself.

With proper top management this place could make money like any physician office.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by perrjojo

He just didn't see that it could be profitable. This has nothing to do with greed.

Well, yes and no.

The desire to make a 'profit,' is 'greed' by definition.

Having said that, I understand your point.

Even if the business model were based on not-for-profit (which I haven't heard anyone say that this is the case), they still have to cover expenses/capital and health industry costs are very expensive.

Originally Posted by perrjojo

It is just plain old business. A medical practice must generate enough income to sustain itself.

I think the main theme here is that there are those that were naive enough to believe that the developer was more interested in setting up a health system whose primary/sole goal was geared toward taking care of residents, even if it required supplemental funding from somewhere else (the developer?).

That isn't meant as a criticism of those that took the developer at his word, it is meant more as a wake-up call to those who think the Morse's walk on water and actually care more about the residents than they do about increasing their net worth.

It should be pretty clear by now (additional home building/high business rents/$40M POA lawsuit settlement/etc., etc.) to everyone, that they only walk on water when the lake is froze over solid, measurements of the ice thickness have been made and the lake is only 3 inches deep.

On the positive side (for us), is that they still think they need to maintain the common areas in beautiful condition, provide live entertainment, strong 2 for 1 happy hours and many other perks to attract additional buyers/businesses.

Anyone who believes that those same things would be provided if the developer thought for a minute that they could sell the same amount of houses/commercial property without providing what we currently have, needs to seriously think about taking those rose-colored glasses off.

At the same time, I tip my hat at the exceptional business acumen the Morse's have shown and think they are a good model of what can happen in this great country, with a good idea and a lot of hard work.

Just don't make the mistake of thinking that they are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, altruism or are hoping to be viewed as great Samaritans.

They want to make money and everything they do, is predicated on what it will take to make more.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's the American way.

[wendyquat]

I too was disappointed in the lack of a "we're sorry" paragraph in their letter. While I understand their reason for doing this I think the LEAST they could offer is an apology for kicking us to the curb!

[Yorio]

My wife said I was an one person cheering section for The Villages. I told everyone outside of The Villages, this was where they should be. I thought it was heartwarming to watch the Morse family yearly presentation this year with their children. When Village Health first started recruiting, I said I'd be willing to be a Guinea pig for the system. How sad, how very salad to see what's happening now with The Village Health system. Without realizing, I was duped into lying how wonderful the system is.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Yorio

My wife said I was an one person cheering section for The Villages. I told everyone outside of The Villages, this was where they should be. I thought it was heartwarming to watch the Morse family yearly presentation this year with their children. When Village Health first started recruiting, I said I'd be willing to be a Guinea pig for the system. How sad, how very salad to see what's happening now with The Village Health system. Without realizing, I was duped into lying how wonderful the system is.

How so?

If you have the accepted insurance, you can stay in.

If you don't, surely you have an opportunity to purchase the accepted insurance, and can stay in.

Who is kicked out? Or do you mean you are Dropping Out because you don't like the rules?

DUMPED and DROPPED OUT are two different actions.

[nsorgen]

We received our letters a day ago and was surprised to not be grandfathered as promised. We have been with the Villages Doctor for 4 years and all has gone well. Now we need to go through the fine print of the United Heath care plans and see if we can live with the limitations of a PPO. They are loosing money on this system and are forcing it down our throats. Not a fan of socialized anything. We are going to check it out, but if the plan does not suit our needs, there are many good GPs located here. We are not happy campers.

[wendyquat]

Originally Posted by nsorgen

We received our letters a day ago and was surprised to not be grandfathered as promised. We have been with the Villages Doctor for 4 years and all has gone well. Now we need to go through the fine print of the United Heath care plans and see if we can live with the limitations of a PPO. They are loosing money on this system and are forcing it down our throats. Not a fan of socialized anything. We are going to check it out, but if the plan does not suit our needs, there are many good GPs located here. We are not happy campers.

Please share your list of the "many good gps" to choose from! Thanks!

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by wendyquat

Please share your list of the "many good gps" to choose from! Thanks!

Dr. John Burress, Lady Lake Family Medicine on 466. He's a great Dr. !!
I also liked his NP and followed her to the Villages Health System. She's awesome!

[rosemaryly]

For those of us who travel and who still spend a fair amount of time in another state, any Advantage Plan is a distinct Disadvantage. I was happy with the Villages Health Care System accepting my medicare and supplemental plans. Now I am very disappointed. When I return to TV in the fall, I guess I will be seeking another PCP. Darn. the almighty dollar rules again!