Premiere Medical Associates
 

I do not recommend Premiere Medical Associates! I was charged two co-payments to see Dr. Luis Alvarado in Lady Lake (no exam - just a consultation and then a second one to go over lab work), and then he never followed through with sending in my prescriptions. I called three times to ask about my prescriptions and they never got back to me and now I can't get my co-payments refunded. I ended up having to see another doctor before my prescriptions expired. I've called Premiere Medical Associates asking about refunding the charges, but they insist they were for services rendered. The two 2 minute appointments (which gained me nothing) were an expensive learning experience! I should have had some warning when they required me to make a second appointment just to go over lab work (with all labs in the "normal" range). I've never had a doctor require me to make an appointment to go over normal results. They are in it for the money.

I love my doctor at Premier and have had mostly positive experiences with other services there. I cannot say the same for the support staff. The people that work at the front desk, in records and billing are inconsistent at best. Fortunately my insurance is very good and rarely to I have to make a co-pay.

From what I've experienced this is fairly common with medical support staffs in this area. They tend to range from mediocre to horrible.

I've thought of leaving Premier several times but I have such a good relationship with my doctor that I've stayed.

Why are there so many complaints by first time posters?

I'm new to The Villages, but this wasn't my first post. I made a prior post regarding Uhaul (positive experience).

Counting is hard for some here. Don't let the usual curmudgeon suspects get you down.

[QUOTE=Carol@TV;2119552]I do not recommend Premiere Medical Associates! I was charged two co-payments to see Dr. Luis Alvarado in Lady Lake (no exam - just a consultation and then a second one to go over lab work), and then he never followed through with sending in my prescriptions. I called three times to ask about my prescriptions and they never got back to me and now I can't get my co-payments refunded. I ended up having to see another doctor before my prescriptions expired. I've called Premiere Medical Associates asking about refunding the charges, but they insist they were for services rendered. The two 2 minute appointments (which gained me nothing) were an expensive learning experience! I should have had some warning when they required me to make a second appointment just to go over lab work (with all labs in the "normal" range). I've never had a doctor require me to make an appointment to go over normal results. They are in it for the money.[/QUOte

I think you will find that every doctor in this rather corrupt corner of the country maximizes profit by creating opportunities to charge you and your insurance, and whatever else they can get away with. I don't think we've had an appointment yet where I wasn't overcharged. They all seem to assume that PPO means I have to pay anything the insurance won't, regardless of their negotiated rates.

Just last month, I had a procedure at done at Advent hospital in Orlando. My copay was $250. A week later they sent me a bill for another $200. I called and complained that they were in-network and I didn't owe them another dime, and I'd already verified it with Humana. They backed down and said it must have been an "accounting error".

My wife just had a procedure on her eyelids at 'Eyes", which was also covered in-network. They made her come in 3 times for pre-op appointments -- the first just to diagnose the problem, the 2nd for an eye exam (which they filed incorrectly), and then for a $20 "before" picture, taken with an ordinary 35mm-style digital camera. We got hit with the copay for the 1st one, but stuck with the full bill on the other two. Humana told me I only owed them for the $35 copay, regardless of how many times they made her come in for the pre-op stuff. When I called to complain, I got a rash of BS about how the lady had been doing this for 30 years and I didn't know what I was talking about. She wouldn't back down. If they'd done it all in one trip my total would have been $35. Her response was that's what I get for buying crappy insurance like Humana.

You don't even want to get me started on our travails at The Villages Health and United, before we switched to PMA and Humana.

I go to Sham’s in Gainesville, hour drive but well worth the trip

Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs ?

The Villages Health and UHC have been outstanding imo.

How much time you need to be here in order to complaint?

Boston " feels like the ist time
 

be consoling
they just lost their virginity and are commiserating with the new disney ride people, "pirates of the villages"

Wisbad....it's Shands, not Shams

"Sham" healthcare??

Agree! I am VERY satisfied with my health care provider. She has always takes excellent care of me, always ready to refer me to a specialist if necessary. Been with her for 23 years and have never thought about changing. It's all about the person you choose. The support staff does need work.

Doctors, Co Pays
 

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A Doctor is entitled to charge you two times for 2 visits. Double billing is definitely a different story. A good Doctor will fill your prescription with a phone call.
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Believe your warning should have been that you need to make a Co-Pay on every visit.
Perhaps your plan is working against your medical needs.
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You most likely have a lower-cost plan such as a "Medicare Advantage Plan" which is for people who do not need a lot of medical services of course at a lowermonthly cost with Co-Pays. Remember that as we get older our medical needs do increase as do the
time and costs.
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Remember you get what you pay for.
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A Medicare Advantage Plan is for people who need virtually no services at monthly cost savings most with a Co-Pay increasing your monthly costs.
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A Medicare Supplement Plan depending on the plan covers virtually all you medical expenses and at a higher monthly cost with no out-of-pocket Co-Pays.
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We both have had a Medicare Supplement plan for about 14 years and never needed to make a Co-Pay to anyone. Nor do we need a pre-approval to see any Specialist.
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Found this article for you to read:
"There are so many different plans and insurance companies, but first you need to know that there are two plan types – Medicare Supplement also known as Medigap, and Medicare Advantage. Once you know which type of plan you prefer, then you can look further into the specific plans under that category type to narrow your choices down to one or two plan options that should work for you".

More of the same. Thank goodness for the block list

You state that he went over your lab work. Although you may not consider that worthy of a fee, it certainly qualifies. Unless he advertised that there were free consultations he deserves to be paid for the consult no matter how brief.

Most advantage plans do not charge for primary care visit. I believe he had original medicare and paid the 20% not covered. A supplement plan is a choice made by someone who pays monthly premiums to cover these co pays, with an advantage plan, again no co-pay on primary care.

Nobody works for free. That's what a slave is. Nobody wants to be a slave. Don't leave any doctor's office without your prescriptions in hand. Doctors are human beings and they make mistakes. It's a practice. They're practicing medicine & they are human. Don't rely upon human beings, regardless of who they are & what they do, to be free from err. We all err as we all sin. Others could have a perfectly fine experience at this doctor's office. It's wrong to complain here about an individual. That's slander or liable, and they could now sue you over it. (Not that they will, but now they could.) Be careful what you say. The tongue is mightier than the sword! You make mistakes, too. You've left things undone. You are not perfect either. Give grace & you will receive it. Be kind in all ways & you will receive kindness! God bless you.

Sorry but if you take an appointment you owe the co-pay. You can review the results yourself in their portal. You could have them call if there are any issues. Perscriptions not sent in that is another issue.

I made no complaints about the doctor himself, other than he failed to send in my prescription. I don't think it is right that they (Premiere) couldn't reach the doctor (even after they made three attempts to reach him) to have my prescription sent in and I ended up having to contact another doctor to get my prescriptions filled. My experience in the last few years has been that few practices give you a written prescription - but I will certainly try to obtain one in the future. Premiere considers it "services rendered", but I don't. But if someone has a doctor they love at Premiere Medical, they should certainly keep going there. I won't be back.

So instead of reasonable co-pays when you need to see a specialist on an Advantage plan you have paid about $73,800 over 24 years for your fabulous Supplement plan, whether you ssw Specialists or not!

Maybe the doctor is technically allowed to charge her for a 2 minute lab report discussion, but she is technically allowed to get another doctor and another insurance plan. Personally, I would prefer it if the US had a national healthcare system and insurance did not own the doctors and the system.

Yes they are technically allowed to charge me two co-pays for my two visits, but the purpose of ordering the labs was to determine my medication dosage. My issue is they didn't follow through with the prescription despite charging me for going over my lab report. I have no problem with my current insurance. I moved here from another state where I wasn't required to make an appointment to review normal lab results. But based on other's responses, it may be standard practice here.

I ran into a doctor at Premier Medical who was proud of recent promotions because he made his quota. Seemed strange at the time. I changed physicians.
I learned that PMA uses a call service that may be in India or other places outside of the USA. My experience with the call service during daytime hours was pretty bad. They told me that my doctor might be too busy to call back (Dr never got the message), they gave me medical advice..bad medical advice, and they told me I could not go to PMA urgent care that night. Had I known they were foreigners, we would have hightailed it up to PMA Urgent care. In a crisis, this call service could have caused a disaster.
I talked to my doctor and office supervisor and I was told there was nothing they could do. There is something strange going on in PMA. We developed a way to get around the switchboard to solve our problem.

Big mistake. Stay away far away.

Bahamas, I think. But I agree...bad! Rather than deal with offshore incompetents I just go to Premier (I live only 3 miles away) and deal with the incompetents there in person.

Ridiculous. Just a way to milk Medicare.

My primary care doctor, who just retired, would simply have his nurse call us with news like: Your labs are good and no changes; Your ??? is a little low but it's not a concern; Your ??? is too high and we're increasing your xxx to yyy.

Had a colonoscopy once about 20 years ago and had to have a followup appointment so the doctor could tell me: Everything is good. See you in 5 years. 5 years later I went to a different doctor.

A national healthcare system would owned by the government and it would be worse. I worked in heath care and have seen people from other countries who were under their government health care system coming to the US for health care they could not get in their country. An example is a 6 month waiting period for getting a biopsy vs 2 days in the US and also surgical procedures that wouldn't even be done in their country. One person I remember came to our facility was a medical doctor from England. Another patient was from Saudi.

Fortunately we've had great experiences with both The Village Health and United Health of the Villages. Cannot find one thing wrong with the doctors or the insurance company.

That is unfortunate you did not have a good experience with Premier. I had my initial appointment with Dr. Seemab Malik at the Premier Old Camp Rd. Office by LSL. Before I share my experience I want you to be aware I am a retired R.N. of 44 years and the last 20 of those years worked as a Primary Care Case Manager at a large VA hospital based clinic in R.I. Just before my husband and I relocated to TV in June I was having some abnormalities with my kidney function tests and my R.I. PCP advised I get under the care of a new internal medical PCP as soon as we got to TV to have my labs repeated. I would have gone with TV healthcare but they do not accept my Federal BC/BS which acts as my Medicare Part B supplement but Premier did and they offered me an appointment right away. My R.I. doctor forwarded my medical records and lab results to Dr. Malik before my appointment which she reviewed them prior to my appointment and we discussed my abnormal labs immediately then went on to address any other issues I was having. I have worked with many PCPs over the course of 20 years, and the one I worked side by side with for the last 10 years went to Harvard undergrad and Brown medical school and he was the best and I feel Dr. Malik has similar expertise judging by what we discussed and her approach to my care. The medical assistant who screened me was also on top of her game as was the front desk clerk who checked me in and out. Having worked in Primary Care, although it was one large clinic, the clinic consisted of multiple teams and some functioned better than others. And when one of my R.N. colleagues was out sick or on vacation who was on a poorly functioning team which could include doctors I did not care with and I had to cover I would count the hours until my colleagues return. That being said, you may want to give another Premier office a shot as you may have better luck. I had the same positive experience with Ocala Eye and I used to get my care at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston as I have an optic neuropathy issue and you can't get much better than ME&E. Now, if we can only find an ethical dentist as we just had a pretty horrific experience with one here and I won't bore you with the details we will finally be settled with our healthcare.

First time for everything
 

I hasten to guess that folks from other areas are tentative with medical exams by new clinicians.
Some of the docs are Awful. When you have drs for YEARS, it’s stressful to start to assess and trust. It’s concerning.
We were all new once; kinda like immigrants. ☮️

Most seniors here have inadequate insurance, that is, the insurance will discount the doctor's fee by about 50% - 75%. Therefore, medical doctors, and dentist also, cannot spend sufficient time with patients, or, they find ways to do more than necessary, in order to make what they believe they deserve. I'm not complaining about the doctors, it's the system that seems to be causing the problems. All said IMHO.

It happens everywhere....
 

The problem is everywhere. My experience was with TV Health, including their specialty clinic. My husband has an implanted heart monitor that is a continuous EKG reading, 24 hrs/day. Once a month this report is sent to the Cardiology Clinic. It was implanted in 2016 and every month from July 2016 - March 2022 the office billed Medicare and Tricare For Life two bills for $45.00 each, one for reading the report and one for office visit to give us report. We never had the office visit. The report was available on our patient portal. Funniest part is.... we left The Villages in August of 2020 to be nearer family in NC. We did not get established with a cardiologist here in NC due to Covid, etc until March of 2022, so the reports continued to go through the Specialty Clinic in TV. For 19 months Medicare/TFL continued to pay $90.00/month for a patient who no longer lived near there. What's even funnier.... the cardiologist here has billed nothing for the report. He laughed and said ":why would I bill Medicare for reading a report"? He says he reads the report and if there is a problem, he will call for us to come in for office visit. And "no", I have not reported it to Medicare. If they are too inept to pick up on the fact that I changed our address in August of 2020 that hope is there? And further, I have reported other issues to Medicare and the answer was, it would cost more to investigate it than just pay it....

Sounds like 90% of the doctors here and in other parts of the country and it is not going to get any better. Most doctors these days want to be highly paid specialists, except OB/GYN doctors due to their high end malpractice insurance.