Premier Medical vs The Villages Health
 

I'm really not happy with The Villages Health for a litany of reasons. So I'm wondering if anyone switched to Premier Medical and what their experience was?

I have been with Premier Medical for 11 yrs and have had excellent care .

Not a Premiere Health fan, can never get in touch with them. Villages Health has served me very well.

Sorry Viking Jr. So far it's The Villages Health hands down.

The Villages Hospital was fantastic.

The Villages Emergency Room was anything but an Emergency.

Every since they centralized the phone system it has been a challenge. Speak with the coordinator at your location and they will straighten things out for you. Good Luck.

Some good doctors there including Dr Sundeep Shah, but office not so good. Had to leave to follow Dr Gegaj, who opened his own office, and is as good as they come.

Premier has or had some good doctors but their clerical staff is worthless, got rid of them 2 years ago, picked up a primary that accepts Blue Cross supplement and use The Villages specialists when needed as they do accept original Medicare and BC.

The Villages Hospital is NOT part of the Villages Health. Also you need to very carefully research Medicare ADVANTAGE versus Medicare and supplemental, IMHO, I would never use an advantage plan.

I love The Villages Health. I have an excellent Doctor. I can ask questions and get an answer in less than 24 hours on the Patient Portal. If I have an issue on the weekend I can call, leave a message, and I get a call from a physician the same day. If I have an issue I can get in to see a PA or Nurse Practitioner in less than 24 hours. My physician spends at least 30 min with me when I have my 6 month physical.
What's not to love??

We’ve used Premier Medical for 10+ years…Doctors and PAs are very good…clerical staff at the St Barbara office are terrible however the staff at LSL are excellent.

I have a Medicare Advantage Plan as a retirement benefit from my employer. It has very comprehensive coverage. Curious as to why you would never use an Advantage Plan.

Not a fan of Premier
 

when I arrived here I chose Premier. I started with one doctor. Then he or she would leave then another, and another. But the worst part was their billing. All you would see would be a bunch of codes and and a dollar amount. No explanation. I had enough and went to United Healthcare and The Villages Health. I am very happy!

Good Doctors. Terrible staff. Telephones need to be staffed by English speaking personnel. Appointments are never on time, have walked out twice because of excessive wait times.

After 11 years, we’ve had it with Premier. My husband just had a knee replacement on Friday. We still do not have physical therapy set up even though we started this onerous process over two weeks ago. Two drs at Premier are insisting he come in tomorrow to fill out a form, and then they will fax it to his insurance. With a sore leg and Covid all around, they will not allow a virtual meeting. They also expect us to find home health. Insurance tells us this is all bs. They just need a faxed request from dr, and they’ll immediately ok it. Insurance was so frustrated on Thursday that they asked the surgeon’s office to call so they could get pt assigned.

May I ask why?

Guess you'll get a mixed response here. My S.O. used to go to Premier when we 1st arrived 12 yrs ago. We both switched to TVH in 2012 and we do go to Santa Barbara---have had NO issues there. We've been very happy with our switch. Premier consistently has had bad reviews on social media with the office help not being so on top of things. I think that speaks volumns.

Stay away from Premier
 

I used Premier when I first moved here. The first doctor they assigned me wasn't even board certified. When I complained they gave me another who was well trained but doctors are limited in the time they can spend with a patient - max 15 minutes then there is a knock on the door to move on. The office staff is incredibly poor. Messages are not returned, difficult to contact doctor either because they are not transmitted or they are transmitted incorrectly due to their poor command of the English language. It seems their primary focus is keeping costs low rather than patient care. I switched to Villages Health and am very happy with the organization's team approach that gets answers and prescriptions quickly and help whenever you need it.

Advantage plan works well if you remain local for your treatments, but if you travel extensively, as we do, there can be some real issues with out of network coverage without getting pre-approved. Regular medicare is no issue, but we will have to switch to healthcare outside The Villages Healthcare system once I lose my company health care coverage since they won't accept regular medicare.

Premier medical
 

My neighbors had a bad experience with them. I’ve not heard good reviews of them in general. I am very happy with my primary doctor: Felix Agbo 352-753-2224

We went with Original Medicare plus Medigap because none of my husband's specialists take any Advantage Plan.

Since we've been down here we have used Village Health. What we love is the village health portal. You have all your record and appointment with a finger stroke. Whenever we've had a question for a specific doctor the site gives you a list, you send your question and usually they respond within the hour.

What primary doctor did you choose

Premier Medical..
 

Left Premier about a little over a year ago, office staff not as knowledgeable as they should be. Yearly physicals are a joke. Switched over to Cleveland Heath , Dr , Gegaj

Don’t Go With Medicare Advantage
 

Medicare Advantage is anything but an Advantage. If you are over 65 and have any major health issues.

Ohiobuckeye
 

There’s Pro’s & Con’s on Premier Medical too! But you’re right, choose wisely.

Not heard anything good about Premier. There are other doctors, Lakeview Medical has several doctors and specialists and several locations, Dr. Gegaj is in Lake Sumter Landing under Cleveland Health. And others.
The Villages Health is very limited and you have to have Medicare Advantage if you are 65 and over. Which is a mistake. Very limited.

I'm curious what is the main issues with Medicare Advantage?
There are a number of post here stating that Medicare Advantage is a problem.

My wife and I both switched to The Villages Healthcare Medicare Advantage when we moved here in 2016 (after extensive research) and have been very happy with our doctors, Health Care Center staff and services and our healthcare in general. In 2018 I had a triple by-pass and this April my wife had a L3-L4 fusion and we both had excellent care. Our appointments have always been on time and very prompt! My only small complaint is that when I have an appointment, I never have enough time in the waiting room to read anything!

Premier Medical
 

Dr. Sundeep Shah is top notch, Premier's office staff is very questionable as is their online portal. Tough to get an appointment quickly - they usually suggest you visit an Urgent Care if you need to see a doctor quickly. I used to be with Village Health but when I turned 65 I decided to not go with an Advantage Plan and then chose Dr. Shah at Premier.

Health Insurance
 

The OP didn't mention whether he was using a Medicare Supplement or a Medicare Advantage Plan. I recommend this video to anyone thinking about switching insurance plans.

No Premium "FREE" Medicare Plans | You Get What You Pay For - YouTube

Been with Premier since moving here in 2009. Great care, no complaints, certainly would recommend them and I often do. Only downer is their office staff, hard to deal with but the doctors and APRNs are top notch.

Totally agree! I have been with The Villages Health for 10 years and I am very happy with them.

I left Premier. Not able to see a doctor when I needed them. Am very satisfied with Village health. Portal questions answered promptly, nurse practitioners and physician's assistants are always available and are competent.

My GYN was bought by The Villages and recently that has been a disaster. My provider who was great left and I was assigned a new one. She was very nice but the billing department was a total mess. I was told they were doing a new way of billing and while I have excellent insurance they called me prior to a visit for a Prolia injection telling me I had to pay the bill in advance. I called my insurance and was told that my contract with them did NOT require me to do that and I should wait to be billed after the insurance took care of my part. This was in June, it is now August I am still arguing with the billing people because they did not go thru the specialty care pharmacy to get the medication as I instructed them to do prior to the injection, they billed my insurance for a procedure that did not happen and they billed my insurance for a visit that was not my free well woman's visit. I could go on and on but I did print my progress note and pointed out to the insurance company and the billing department that I never had the procedure and they did correct that but I am still arguing about the medication payment. I am an RN so I know what it is supposed to say and what was not done, I pity the people that do not understand what should be done and do not argue about what could be called insurance fraud.

No prmier
 

When we moved here we started going to Premier. We felt like we were handled as,, and shuffled through like cattle.
With no real medical issues, we found our doctor putting us through every imaginable test and procedure their own system could handle, whether justified or not. We finally put a end to it.
We finally had enough of it, and canceled the remaining tests, and ultimately started looking elsewhere.
About that time, we found out that a couple of Premier's younger doctors were leaving the practice as well and started their own. One we knew from a family member who had her and lived her care. We immediately dumped Premier and went to her practice and love it.

I go to Premier Medical. Had a problem. Saw my doctor who I like. Got an x-ray. No one ever called me back about the issue. After three weeks I called them. They transferred me to my doctor's nurse. She said the x-ray doesn't show anything. That's all she said. So I had to ask what's causing the problem. She said do you want me to have someone set up an appointment with the doctor. Yes I said. Never heard back from them.

Excellent link. Thanks.

The guy in that video is a Medicare supplement salesman. Take what he says with a grain of salt. Medicare supplement plans are not the end all be all of insurance plans. If you are over 65 1/2 and have an existing condition, you may not qualify. I was denied coverage for being on blood pressure meds and metformin. The guy denied my coverage right there during the telephone interview but told me that everything looked good for approval. You also need to purchase a Plan D coverage for your prescriptions.

If you are interested in going to TV Health and are on Medicare, they only take UH MA and Florida Blue MA. So far, for me, the care has been excellent. I’ve never had to sit in the waiting room for my appointment. They are right on time. Every time. Compare the two plans. They differ a bit in copays and which hospitals you can go to. As of right now, I have spent $110 in copays. But, I am not the type to run to the doctor every time I have a small issue. I’d rather stay out of the doctors office. YMMV.

There is a service in TV called SHINE. They are an unbiased source of information and will work with you to find you the best coverage for your needs. They are not salespeople like the guy in that video.

My wife works in health care and she dislikes the advantage plans.

I have probably called Premier ten times in the last two weeks. NO problem getting through. Check you phone.

I’ve been going to PMA ever since I moved here 10 years ago. Granted my doctors have switched but that’s ok 👍 The only complaint I have is that I struggle to understand the people on the phone and in the office. But other than that, I do recommend PMA.

Hope this helps 😃