Once again, I will reiterate a 2 year old challenge: Could you please post a copy of the letter that stated you would be "grandfathered" in? No one has been able to do it so far, you could be the first!

Without being insulting Golfing Eagles I will answer your question simply by stating that a letter was sent by The Villages reassuring their patients that they would be retained in The Villages healthcare because they previously opted for their care. I was one of those patients. I didn't realize I should have kept that letter and used it as a "contract". I took them at their word.

Yes, YOU would be retained. NOT your insurance. Nothing insulting about any of this, it is a debate over the facts of the letter.

Amen.

It boils down to people don't like people who have made a lot of money. It isn't shameful to make money unless you do something illegal or unethical.

The letter from The Villages also stated that they would continue to accept my insurance because I was "grandfathered" into their healthcare. BTW the title of this topic is the "SURVEY" and not your personal opinion on "CHOICE".

If someone can actually come up with the letter which states our insurance was " grandfathered " I think we have the beginnings of a discussion with a good trial attorney. When the decision was first announced there were several threads on this forum and no one could produce a copy of a letter to that effect. I think the other poster who referenced the letter and said it stated we would be allowed to remain patients is correct, but with the proviso we switch to their Advantage Plan. Look, I am absolutely furious about what the Villages Health did and consider their action ill advised and quite amoral. I think they thought the bulk of their patient population would just roll over and switch to their Advantage Plan. Based on the responses on this thread and the actual apology asking we respond to the survey, it seemingly has dawned on them the rancor they invoked might not settling down as hoped. This thread has had thousands of views presumably including people just new to The Villages who now might be questioning whether they want anything to do with the Villages Health. I do not know what the survey will ask. I do know if the survey format allows, they will be told I still consider their actions reprehensible. I will also tell them as I meet new people in social situations who ask about medical service availability in The Villages, that I in good conscience would not recommend the Villages Health and why. Not the primary care side , nor the new specialty side. If they receive thousands of similar responses to their survey we might see some action beyond their worthless apology which was only designed to encourage the survey population to respond.

So, let's see "the letter". And I'm sure part of the survey will be to discover why people made the CHOICES that they did, so I think it is on topic. Besides, I didn't introduce the subject of choice, I just clarified the errors.

OhioBuckeye
 

The point I'm trying to make is, I wouldn't take my dog to TVH in an emergency. My observation are from 10 to 20 yr. residents. I'm sure Tampa will turn TVH around some but I guess I'm thinking of myself & other people with heart issues. As far as different administrations, my family Dr. treats at both Leesburg & TVH. Thank you for your comment & yes I know I got off track with my comment!

The answer is yes. However, that would be a very rare situation.

After directing customer service for large health care providers and selling health insurance to large group employers for thirty years, I've learned with all health insurance, the devil is in the details.

My concern with HMO's has always been the IF's you referred to. It was a no brainer for me to leave the Villages Health System with my current insurance.

Did I like The Villages Health System in general? Yes!
As a matter of fact I love the beauty and convenience of the facilities.

Do I think UHC offers a product through The Villages which is good basic affordable health care? Yes!

Does it make me sad when I point out the health care facilities built within our villages and have to say, "great concept - just not feasible for many of us." Yes!

At this point in my life, the most important choice I want to make is which provider has the most experience doing that procedure.

Would I return to the Villages Health Care System? Maybe! I never say never. But, only IF I have the ability to choose who will perform that most concerning medical procedure or where it will be performed. Which means keeping my current insurance.

After leaving the Villages Health System, I found a wonderful doctor who I trust as much as any of the doctors I met through their health system. I must say I love her so much, I think the Villages Health Care System did me a favor.

In a perfect world, my current doctor would have a private office in the beautiful health facility located in Pinellas and I could keep my current health insurance. :)

I will provide the following, I recall information stating that we would be 'grandfathered' in VHS. Unfortunately, I looked very hard for hard copy documentation and I could not find it. I looked at historic webpages from The Villages with the same results, but I know that both myself and my wife heard this, so I am thinking this was TOLD to us, but never SENT to us. There were several previous comments that we agree with.
1. We really liked our PCP doctor, he actually came for where we came from and my wife knew him from back up North.
2. We were sorry to leave, but there were limitations (or perceived limitations) with VHS that we were very concerned about.
3. Would we come back, OK we will need to see if there are any changes in accepted insurance, we still have concerns about Advantage plans in general, and once you drop Medicare, you may not be able to go back without going to underwriting.
4. And of course ALL of this is going to change with all of the confusion in the area of 'ObamaCare', my crystal ball (some what foggy now) indicates that once the dust has settled, there will be after effects on Medicare, and advantage plans. At that point in time I guess we will need to look over options to determine what is best.

I think you are right.
As to your preamble, TVH was flooded with phone calls, mostly answered by those who weren't "in the know" I called twice and couldn't get a straight answer until I spoke with someone much higher up. I don't recall if she specifically used the term "grandfathered", but one of the people I spoke with told me I could stay without changing insurance. But I'm under 65 and have Blue Cross. My wife is on Medicare and was told she either had to change to UHC MA or go elsewhere (a choice, NOT a boot). It certainly possible that the phone staff were playing "footloose and fancy free" with the word "grandfathered". I don't think all the people who believed that they were "grandfathered" are hallucinating, but I don't think that term ever appeared in written form.

As to your point #2:
I checked out the availability of network specialists and it is really quite extensive, but NOT ALL inclusive. People have posted they want "the best", but not even I can define what "the best" actually is. There are about 57,000 cardiologists in the US, and only one is "the best" But he (or she) cannot see 320 million patients, so someone gets second best, and third best, and someone gets 57,000th best. If you ever did get to see "the best", you would probably be profoundly disappointed. He would be some ivory tower academician who doesn't know how to talk to real people, much less relate to them. He would give you about 90 seconds of his time as he rushed off to his research lab, or to write his next article, or next teaching rounds with cardiology fellows. You would see his name plastered all over the textbooks and the literature, and he would be acclaimed as "the best", but in reality that is a title given to the biggest academic @$$ by other academic @$$e$. For me, give me the clinician who ranks 10-15,000th on the list and I'll be happy and well cared for.

As to your point #4:
Very true, healthcare delivery is a moving target. If you recall, about 8 years ago Advantage plans were all but declared dead. Then for some unknown reason, like the phoenix, they rose from the ashes and now are all the rage. I suspect this is because the QA programs associated with MA plans help support practices working towards becoming a PCMH, but then again this would imply that the healthcare policy wonks in D.C. have the slightest clue about what they are doing. Why's that? Because they get their advice from the academic @$$e$. Remember Jonathan Gruber????

Simple
 

I just watched a video (from FoxNews) that someone posted on FB re: healthcare called "Draining the Healthcare Swamp". It was highly enlightening. The OP for that lives in the midwest where the Mayo conglomerate is "eating up" small town hospitals/clinics as they're the competition. There isn't a simple solution to any of this. It's going on ALL over the country.

This is not by accident. The policy makers in D.C. have been working for years to consolidate healthcare delivery down from 4000+ hospitals and 800,000+ doctors. Their goal is about 100 "Regional Heath Care Centers" where one dominant tertiary care facility owns about 40 or 50 hospitals and a couple thousand medical practices. Why??---it's all about regulation and control. It's easier to sit on 1 big center and make absurd regulations that that one hospital has to enforce down line, than the multitude of providers we have now. Why control and regulation? Because these bozos, advised by academic @$$e$, think that THEY, and only THEY, as auspices of big government, can do the job better that those who have trained for it and practiced it all their lives.

Right on doc.

And Jonathan Gruber is at the head of the list. He (from MIT) spoke famously about the stupidity of the the American people as he helped Obama push Obamacare.


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But isn't that exactly what The Villages is attempting to create?

The difference is nobody is required to join TVH and can choose whatever health care services they desire. But I suspect you know that.
--
Bob C

Not even close. There's a huge difference between "PATIENT CENTERED Medical Home" and "GOVERNMENT controlled healthcare delivery". The PCMH brings all aspects of the patient's healthcare information under one roof---primary care, specialist referral, lab, x ray, medication and then applies a quality assurance program to the results while following evidence based medicine and best practice guidelines. This is how they achieve cost savings.

The government just wants control, at any cost. Just look at the current skyrocketing costs under Obamacare. If your desire is to achieve a totalitarian socialist country, you need to control the media, the jobs, the healthcare, and the "freebies" It doesn't hurt to have a national "enemy" either. We have plenty of freebies, the media is in the tank, Obamacare tries to control healthcare, and there are already over 3 million federal employees, not counting the military. Currently, the "enemy" appears to be climate change deniers and those who oppose transgender rights, subject to change. OK, we're 33 years past 1984, but maybe Orwell had a point.

So, it's either The Villages' way or the highway. Medical care with their decision making. Right now I have a choice. In any case the similarities are alarming. Close enough for me. :crap2:

Hmmmm.....
I can't really see how you got to that conclusion from my post---perhaps someone could explain that logic to me:confused::confused::confused:

What decisions do you mean? In TVH there is no requirement to get a referral to go to a specialist... You don't even have to talk to your PCP about if you don't want to.

You are limited to the specialists in the network, but GE has pointed out that is not a practical limit, though you might not agree.

If you need a procedure that cannot be done by any of the specialists in the network UHC MA is required to pay for an outside network qualified specialist if original Medicare would.

If you just want a specialist outside of the network for whatever reason as long as you get an exception from UHC MA they will pay for it. Of course there is no guarantee but UHC most likely would approve.

That is the basis for my statement. "As long as you get an exception from UHC MA they will pay for it. Of course THERE IS NO GUARANTEE but UHC MOST LIKELY would approve". There are too many variables. Variables which don't sit right with me. After reading posts on both sides of the fence I am leaning towards responding to the survey with, take it and do with it as you will but, I don't want it any longer. That will be my privilege.

:D Village Health applied the boot
A size 14 wore by a brute
Kicked us all right down the chute
So they could make much more loot
Justified with harp and lute
Expected us to stay quite mute
Didn't think we'd give a hoot
Dropped us all as a group
Don't let their action remain moot
We are old but not yet coots
Don't use your survey for Fido's poop
Respond and punch them in the snoot
Sometimes I wish I had a nuke

Very clever, I'm impressed.

Of course it has nothing to do with reality, so I'll file it under fictional poetry.

But impressive, nonetheless

Just received the e-mail with a link to the survey. Haven't opened it yet, but this should prove interesting. I predict another 150+ posts on this thread.

Let's bet a lobster. Should I invite Barefoot to enter a bet?

P.S., at least 150.


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Only if you want to go hungry:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

150+ with125 being meaningless jibberish.

If we bet a lobster, I'll make sure it reaches 150, even if 149 are meaningless gibberish:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I'll take meaningless gibberish for 150, Alex.

The Villages Health - Survey
 

This is Barefoot's bet by telepathy. I wouldn't bet against GE almost anything medical. Almost! [emoji41][emoji106]

But I would be honored to purchase a lobster for him.


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I just completed the Survey. Took about 20 minutes.
My take away...
They wanted to make sure that I understand: Medicare, The Advantage Option, the quality of care they provided, the coordinated care provided by TV, and whether, or not, the cost influenced my decision to leave, etc

You mean it wasn't an "apology"??:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I am late to this discussion.

First, look at what the debate is primarily about. How do I (medical provider get paid ?)

Second, The Villages of Lake-Sumter, Inc> (TVLSI) doesn't disappoint in their ability to stir up controversy. Those of us that were around when TVLSI uprooted the Wellness Center understand my meaning.

Third, were members of TVHCS given a "choice", yes but it was a Hobson Choice in my view.

Fourth, TVHCS has been going on for a good number of years and for some reason they cannot get their act together. Why?

Fifth, a serious person would ask and probe deeper as to why an Advantage Plan is the only ticket to admission?

I sensed problems within TVHC early on and moved to the Munroe system which has never disappointed me, but then I am one of those residents that don't need no stinking golf cart access:D

TVHCS could be so much more but for whatever reason it simply can't get its act together and because I am not getting any younger I decided not to wait

Personal Best Regards:

Well, it's still not in the forwarded mail. When did you all receive the letter? Is there a link to the survey that we can use? If so, we'd love to respond to their survey - also telling them the letter from them via first class mail didn't arrive in NH... Thanks in advance

My email and link has not arrived as of 7/21, I would have thought these would go out at the same time....

My husband and I received our email yesterday (7/20). Because there are 15,000 emails that have to be sent it won't happen at one time. Also, check your spam folder just in case. My take on the survey is there isn't anything enlightening. Same old, same old. It's going to be their way or the highway.

Please start a new thread. This one has spun hopelessly out of control. :loco:

I just called Village Health, and they said we should get the survey soon. I just expected in todays automated world, these would be sent out much more quickly.

Oh, but champ, this thread is pure theater, "full of sound and fury." If it gets closed down, whatever will I do during my morning coffee? ......."tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow."