No health insurance
 

I am 61 and want to move to The Villages. I am healthy but take blood pressure meds. I have no insurance but need my blood pressure meds refilled. How do I find a doctor to do this? I need the prescription given to me so I can mail it to get it filled.

You're healthy, til you're not. Things can happen over-night that can be life-altering. I would contact an ins. agent for your info. to find out what you might do.

I'm not sure what the issue is. There a lots of doctors in The Villages. You call one, make an appointment, and pay them in cash. If you don't have any money, you can apply for Medicaid.

I've tried a couple of doctors but they wont take me without health insurance. This situation is keeping me from moving. I also need the actual perscription as I send it out of the country for filling.

Here is a web site that has a list of doctors who take cash. It looks like there is one in Ocala.

Cash / Direct Payment Friendly Practices | Wufoo

You could try an Urgent Care facility. They might renew your prescription. Here is one with a lot of locations in The Villages.

441 Urgent Care Center – Open Daily, Including Weekends & Holidays, 365 Days In Most Of Our Locations.

You may also want to try Teladoc or another similar online service, where you can consult with a doctor on the phone or online.

Keep getting your pills where you get them now.

Would you be able to have your current doctor fill the prescription until you get on medicare? My prescriptions are usually 90 pills for 3 months with 2 or three renewals. Maybe you can get a prescription for a year and visit the doctor when your return to your current area to visit friends and family???. Probably use a mail order pharmacy. If you go directly to the drug store you may have to go to one in the state your doctor is registered with as the doctor may not be licensed in FL.

There is a “free health clinic” in Leesburg. Not positive but I think it’s run by the First Baptist Church. You could call First Baptist for information regarding their program. 352-787-1005

I have funds to pay, is the thing.

IMHO, you are taking a chance going out of the country. There are several other options that MIGHT work, Good Rx, and a few other recently advertised, as well as just asking the druggist. I just had a scare with BP medications as several were recalled due to possible carcinogen the version I was taking was NOT recalled as the MFG was different, I have no idea how you would be able to determine this with out of the country supplier. Good luck with your quest.

Your problem is that most doctor's offices will not take cash paying patients, and for good reason. 98% of the time they get stiffed. And I agree with VT---sending for pharmaceuticals out of the country is a crapshoot. Also, going without health insurance is an even bigger crapshoot. Now for sticker shock----Florida Blue individual coverage with a $7.000 deductible costs $15,200/year premium. The posts above give a lot of options, I hope you find one that meets your needs

Living in the Villages is not cheap. I'm sorry to suggest this, but perhaps you should be using those dollars now to get health insurance. If your income is low the ACA AKA Obamacare will subsidize your cost. A 61 yo with untreated elevated BP is just awaiting potential complications. The cost of those complications may acutely bankrupt you or long term make your life miserable.. strokes, cardiac problems, kidney failure.

So pay for the health insurance, get proper care, then see what you have left to cover the cost of living here. At 65 if you qualify for medicare, the equations will change.

Very sound advice. Blue Cross Blue Shield was most helpful during the in between years. And no worry about pre existing conditions.

You know something VT, a lot of people laugh off GoodRX because they have Medicare. Just go to their website and put in the prescriptions that you choose to not receive by mail and see for yourself the significant saving on some items, not all of them.

We just had one medication come thru as a recall but when I went in person to Publix I was told it didn't affect our particular brand. Two days later we got a Email saying it was in fact a possible carcinogen. Worms, not Publix as we think they are the greatest. The manufacturer is the Worm and a piece of garbage.

I'll bet that one of the people at the place that VT talks about and I went to for advice several years ago could help the OP. Just remembered, SHINE. They were great. Good Luck. SHINE Program
Department of Elder Affairs
4040 Esplanade Way, Suite 270 Tallahassee, FL 32399-7000

Toll Free 1-800-96-ELDER
1-800-963-5337
TDD/TTY 1-800-955-8770
Fax 850-414-2150

I have used GoodRx recently and might again. Yes, valsartan was pulled in the US and also in Canada where I get my scripts normally filled.

#1) my BP is NOT untreated.
#2) when my time is up, it's up. Even with insurance, I will not take extraordinary measures to stay alive, so no need for insurance.
#3) you're getting far away from the question that was asked.

Dr Norma Kusnetz - Winter Park Fl

Somehow you got a cash only doc wherever you live now. How did you do that. I found the one above in a 5 minute google search. If I can so can you. I can't imagine you are going to find people living around TV with no health insurance. You really should say thanks to all for trying but walk away. I guarantee you this will turn into a lecture of why you should have health insurance. It's obvious you have a reason and that is nobody else's business but your own. Best of luck.

OP might not be familiar enough with the area to know which doctor is close and which one is far away.


When we came here we knew where Ocala was and that's about it.

He's 60 and in good health. He doesn't qualify for Medicaid in Florida. Have to be over 64, or blind or disabled, or have a parent, child, or spouse living in the house who is either blind or disabled.

Florida chose not to participate in Medicaid expansion so healthy seniors who can't afford to pay for their insurance are generally out of luck til they're 65.

Most physicians offices accept credit card payments for services. You won't find a doctor to JUST write a prescription, they'll probably need you to set up a first visit, with all your records transferred from your old doctor to them, at least a cursory wellness check if not a full physical.

Once you become their patient I imagine the next time you need the rx written it'll be a lot smoother but the first one with a new doctor who's never met you before will not be a quickie phone call and pick up the prescription.

And I thank you for sparing 5 minutes of your time to help little, ole , uninsured me. I feel very humbled by your graciousness. I had insurance at one point so was already a patient with my current doctor. Hes stuck with me, I guess. My previous dr at the same practice got very rude with me but thankfully she left the practice shortly thereafter. I'm cutting into their kickbacks. I only go in for prescription refills. My image of a kind. helpful doctor has been blown. Alas, it is what it is. However I just read that self pay is growing. Hopefully we can run the insurance companies out of business.
To the new future!

Huh? I said that, if you don't have any money, you can apply for Medicaid. You don't need to be 65 to get Medicaid if you meet the income and poverty requirements, and other criteria.

Call Florida Blue at 352-259-0066 in The Villages. They are part of The Villages health care.

And I thank you for sparing 5 minutes of your time to help little, ole , uninsured me. I feel very humbled by your graciousness. I had insurance at one point so was already a patient with my current doctor. Hes stuck with me, I guess. My previous dr at the same practice got very rude with me but thankfully she left the practice shortly thereafter. I'm cutting into their kickbacks. I only go in for prescription refills. My image of a kind. helpful doctor has been blown. Alas, it is what it is. However I just read that self pay is growing. Hopefully we can run the insurance companies out of business.
To the new future!

Hi Gigi. Just wanted to tell you that you are not alone. Since I am on no medications, my situation is a little different than yours. I decided to go self-pay at the beginning of this year and plan to continue until I reach 65 in another 16 months. I knew that I would lose my primary doctor because TVH does not accept self-pay patients, even ones who were already patieints. Alas, it is part of the risk that I have taken on.

The Urgent Care Centers in the area do take cash patients. Used them once for an injury.

What if you fall off a ladder, get in an auto accident, develop cancer suddenly, etc.?

Exactly, get health insurance. At least catastrophic insurance. An event such as listed above and you are bankrupt. Even worse, you can go to an emergency room and they can't turn you away. Then all the TOV members with health insurance will have their premiums go up to cover you not being insured.

IMO, if you on blood pressure medication you’re not all that healthy. I’m 67 and don’t take one pill ������ regularly. Occasionally I get headaches from prior brain tumor. Even when you turn 65 and get Medicare searching for doctor will still be problem down here.

I try to be careful, obviously. I hope my 401k assets are protected. I would lose the equity in my home, I'm sure. Cancer, I would do nothing. When my time is up, it's up. Boy, you all worry alot. I actually dont worry about these things. Advertising is meant to scare you into worrying excessively, I know. BUT, I know these things could happen.

How about instead of guilting me into getting insurance, you drop yours. You are pushing up the cost of health care by not taking a stand.
Like I said previously, when my time is up, it's up. You wont find me languishing in some hospital while they milk my insurance coverage.

I've gone off one medication, had another reduced. I'm hoping to be off all meds soon. I need a good doctor that isnt driven by drug kickbacks. These direct pay doctors I've been reading about sound very hopeful! You pay a flat fee, probably around $80, every month and basic services are covered. It seems to be hard to get into a good one tho, too much demand.

That is a two sided coin. People without insurance going to doctors or hospital and skipping payment drives up health insurance costs. This subject is getting very close to the affordable care act discussions both pro and con. Your desire to move here is being stymied by not finding a cash only doctor. Well just a few short years ago many of us prior to Medicare found it difficult to become Florida residents due to the fact we could not get health insurance if we had pre existing conditions. I also suspect your desire to crusade against health insurance (that is fine) is stronger than your desire to move to TV.

At the beginning of this thread I was sympathizing with you, but now you have gone completely off the rails.

Please explain these "kickbacks" that you have now mentioned twice. Who "kickbacks" what to whom? Do you think physicians attend 4 years college, 4 years medical school, 3 to 9 years residency to engage in criminal behavior for chump change???? And from WHOM???

After practicing medicine for 30+ years, I have never seen or heard of anything like "kickbacks" I suppose you also think FDR allowed the attack on Pearl Harbor and the alien bodies are housed in area 51. And if you think you can join a concierge practice for $80/month, good luck, especially if any of those physicians read this thread.

So are you saying the drug companies NEVER gave you money based on prescribing medication? This is what I mean by a kickback. Also, if this wasnt the case, why was my original doctor mean to me after I dropped my insurance, even tho I was paying full price for my office visit, labs etc...?I. I'll answer my own question. It was because I asked for my RX scripts to send out of the country for filling. She couldnt get her KICKBACK!!

Everytime I've gone to the doctor, I've had to pay, in full, right then and there. Unsure how people rack up bill's they are unwilling/unable to pay. Credit is killing this country.

Yes, that is EXACTLY what I am saying. You are spouting off on a subject you know nothing about. So, in your delusional fantasy world, how does a physician get these "kickbacks" Does he meet Clarence Beeks from the movie "Trading Places" in a dark corner of a parking garage and get an envelope??? Does the pharmaceutical company provide a 1099 and report these kickbacks or just add income tax evasion to the list of charges? Very simply, the drug companies wouldn't want anything to do with the scenario you've suggested, nor would any physician. They couldn't pay enough to even consider it; they would lose money.

My girlfriend was under 65 and could not afford health Ins. she sign-up for Obamacare and got coverage she could afford, and their are plenty of doctors here in TV to choose from. Also if you are a Vet. we have a VA clinic that might help you get your meds.

[QUOTE=golfing eagles;1705333]Yes, that is EXACTLY what I am saying. You are spouting off on a subject you know nothing about. So, in your delusional fantasy world, how does a physician get these "kickbacks" Does he meet Clarence Beeks from the movie "Trading Places" in a dark corner of a parking garage and get an envelope??? Does the pharmaceutical company provide a 1099 and report these kickbacks or just add income tax evasion to the list of charges? Very simply, the drug companies wouldn't want anything to do with the scenario you've suggested, nor would any physician. They couldn't pay enough to even consider it; they would lose money.[/QUOTE

then why was my doctor mad? Why am I reading various stories from many sources about this? I think you're LYING. Maybe not money, but you got SOMETHING for loyality.