[JohnN]

So first and foremost I'm searching for a good primary care physician.
There are good docs and bad docs everywhere, I want to find a good one.

But a broader question is The Villages Health The Villages Health | America's Healthiest Hometown
Is it really *better*? I don't quite see how to be honest.
It appears to me to be more a marketing by United Healthcare and The Villages akin to selling homes, but I may be wrong.

Thoughts, opinions? I'm trying to figure whether to jump right or left
Villages Health or outside the system, plus find a good PCP. Thanks.

[rsetterlund]

We have Dr. Clarissa Abrantes for our PCP and love her. She has an office in the Laural Manor area and is golf cart accessible. It depends on the type of medical insurance you have. If you have a United Healthcare Advantage plan then next year you will have to go to the Villages Healthcare as United Healthcare is dropped all doctors that are not a part of the Villages system. I was very excited when I first heard about the Villages Healthcare, but now I am praying it does not destroy our healthcare here.

[SALYBOW]

I use Dr. Felix Agbo as my PCP and am completely happy with him. I have asked other docs about him and he is highly regarded. He is located in that medical complex in Sumter landing that Sweetwater runs next to. Very convenient.

[Jimbo120]

My PHC is Dr Hawley and I have been very happy with her. I have been with TV Health Care for about 7 months. The waiting times seem to be the first advantage I see... prescription refills are also easy although you will never remember the website name! I have heard that now that Preferred Care is not available here (also owned by United Healthcare) a large number of specialists have been removed from their network. Hard to tell how much of this is Obamacare or United Healthcare's reduced payments. So far, the convience has been worth enriching the developer.

Originally Posted by JohnN

So first and foremost I'm searching for a good primary care physician.
There are good docs and bad docs everywhere, I want to find a good one.

But a broader question is The Villages Health The Villages Health | America's Healthiest Hometown
Is it really *better*? I don't quite see how to be honest.
It appears to me to be more a marketing by United Healthcare and The Villages akin to selling homes, but I may be wrong.

Thoughts, opinions? I'm trying to figure whether to jump right or left
Villages Health or outside the system, plus find a good PCP. Thanks.

[Mudder]

I agree with the above poster and would add some things. Over the past 3 months I have had the need to go quickly to doctor, I always have been able to see doctor or The PA the day I call....for me that's a plus. All you records are up online quickly, referrals are done quickly when needed and i have received follow up calls from nurse in a day or two to see how I'm doing. Only one specialist that I go to rarely is not on the United Health Care plan for 2014. So, I for one am very satisfied with the care, the plan, etc....

[RVRoadie]

We used The Villages Health Care system for a few months this year and were very happy with it. However, when they made the exclusive deal with United Health Care for Medicare Advantage, we decided to leave and go to a plan with much lower costs. Fortunately the new plan has all the doctors we want.

I really don't like the idea of the health providers dictating which insurance plan you must accept.

[gerryann]

For those that have gone with the villages health care system, how soon were you able to get in to meet your new primary care physician?

Is anyone concerned that when season is in full swing and all of the folks are needing to get in to meet their new dr's...that there may be a long wait to get an appointment? How about during season and you become ill, but the villages clinic is booked solid for appointments? Is there an urgent care affiliated with the villages plan where one can go if their PCP is booked? Will the result be to sit for hours in the hospital emergency room? Is this new "Marcus Welby" plan capable of handling the amount of folks that will be signed up?

I wish there was more time to make a decision on my health plan. I'd like to see how this plan is gonna work during a busy season.....and the dr's who are signing up here...are they all new dr's that are just looking for experience under their belt, and will move on soon? Are the dr's that are signed up, good dr's? I guess we won't know that for quite a while.....time will tell.

[Avista]

My physician at Villages Health has diagnosed a condition (easily cured) that my two previous physicians did not pursue. I am very pleased with the quality of Villages Health. This is besides the fact i see my physician promptly, my physician is available my email, all my records are online. Etc

[Bizdoc]

Wife and I both have Dr Clifford at Colony. We're happy. When we have needed to see a doctor on short notice we have always been seen the same or next day. (In one case, a PA as Dr Clifford was booked solid. Hey, it happens. The only time I have ever had better service was when the doctor worked for me. (We have been in the system for 10 months)

My parents recently moved here, into SumterPlace. They have Dr Masoodi at Santa Barbara. They are happy with him as am I. He's overhauled both of their meds (they had several interaction issues thanks to the idiot doctor in Virginia).

Is the system perfect? Nope. Still has some growing pains (as does any new medical practice). Well above average.

One comment - I have noticed that the bulk of the negative remarks are from folks who "heard from someone..." or who think that they are getting their very own doctor who is instantly available 24/7 with no wait. Not exactly realistic.

[Deerfly]

I had to leave my original doctor a couple of years ago because he and his associates didn't subscribe to the cheap HMO I thought I wanted. He was, and I assume still is, a great doctor. He and his associates have four or five offices in and around The Villages. I just dropped my HMO and went back to him. Will see him in January out in Laurel Manor. Name is Dr. Shahbaz Cheema. Best doctor I have ever had.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Deerfly

I had to leave my original doctor a couple of years ago because he and his associates didn't subscribe to the cheap HMO I thought I wanted. He was, and I assume still is, a great doctor. He and his associates have four or five offices in and around The Villages. I just dropped my HMO and went back to him. Will see him in January out in Laurel Manor. Name is Dr. Shahbaz Cheema. Best doctor I have ever had.

We all like cheapness! But...."you pay for what you get". Glad you could return to the dr. you have the most confidence in.

As always, it's not the clinic or the famous hospital that determines your care.....it's the physician (unless his hands are being tied behind his/her back by insurance--both private and public).

[dillywho]

I just don't like HMO's period. I was in one when I first retired because that was part of my retirement package. My doctor needed to do an MRI and they would not approve it. When he called to have me hospitalized in order to get it, they decided that they would approve it on a out-patient basis after all. I don't care for game-playing when it comes to my health care. I do not want to have to say "Mother may I?" if I want to go to a specialist of my choosing.

My current plan, as well as hubby's, is a Humana PPO. We have been very happy with it. We are always free to choose our own specialists without having to go through our primary. I always ask that the specialist keep our primary abreast of what's going on, though. That is my choice to do and I exercise that choice.

[gerryann]

Originally Posted by dillywho

I just don't like HMO's period. I was in one when I first retired because that was part of my retirement package. My doctor needed to do an MRI and they would not approve it. When he called to have me hospitalized in order to get it, they decided that they would approve it on a out-patient basis after all. I don't care for game-playing when it comes to my health care. I do not want to have to say "Mother may I?" if I want to go to a specialist of my choosing.

My current plan, as well as hubby's, is a Humana PPO. We have been very happy with it. We are always free to choose our own specialists without having to go through our primary. I always ask that the specialist keep our primary abreast of what's going on, though. That is my choice to do and I exercise that choice.

I had also considered Humana PPO, as well as Blue cross PPO......however, the few meds that I take we're going to be way more expensive than with the HMO plans.