Need new Doctor
 

My Village health primary care doctor is moving.
All Village Health doctors say they are NOT taking new patients.
Please give any recommendations you can.
Thanks

Time to get out of Villages Health. Your Dr probably has a non compete contract and can’t tell you were he may be going. Too many people not enough Dr in Villages Health. Orlando Health and Adventist Healthcare moving into area to fill the gap.

IMHO, you have a big problem, many of the outside (of villages health) will not accept the ADVANTAGE plans the VHS requires you the have for their coverage. I would contact Medicare, explain the situation and see if they will let you go back to original Medicare without underwriting. If so, then you can go to practically any doctor outside of Villages Health. If you cannot do this, I would escalate your problem to VHS management, with the threat of legal action if necessary. I am sorry for your situation, as you are now experiencing some of the problems we had years ago when we left VHS.

This is the scenario about “Medicare advantage” that concerns me. I’m still several years away from Medicare age (65), but will probably go with traditional Medicare once I turn 65.. If heard people say “Medicare advantage is good, until it isn’t”. I want the flexibility of traditional medicare I think.

At this time I am not on medicare. I have Federal BC/BS
I do think I will have to go outside the bubble. I will miss the Village health.
Please keep sending me names of doctors.
Thanks to all for your help

I heard from a friend who is very close to a hair dresser my sister in law frequents ---- !!! Priceless. Was not the request for a doctor's name ? Nothing noted about the type of insurance simply their Villages doc was moving.

Dr. Ana Karovaska Vuchidolov was my doctor when she was with Premiere Medical. She's in a practice in Leesburg now. I didn't follow her when she left because it took me awhile before I found her again and had established myself with another group/doctor. She was the only reason I stayed with Premiere Medical as long as I did.

I go to Lakeview Healthcare System. They have around 6 different locations. I have had the same doctor for 13 years. I think they have good doctors. Also I have AARP United Healthcare for my Supplemental Insurance Plan F. I don't think I would have liked the Village type insurance.

New Doc
 

Interesting... my husband was grandfathered into VH with std Medicare and has had 2 docs leave the practice. He was always assigned a new doctor at the same location.

Even though the doctors say this, speak with an advisor. I asked to join a few months ago and was accepted because my husband was already a patient. I just got a different dr.

We love Dr. Steven Rivers. Very conscientious! (352) 205-4302
Buenos Aires and El Camino.

I would strongly recommend checking with the office of Dr. James Brown, Hwy 441, Bellview, FL. He is a DO primary care physician affiliated with Ocala Regional Hospital. His office can be reached at (352) 245-1111.

All of us who are reading this thread, should write to the so called Florida State Representative and insist that the non compete be illegal for anyone in the medical profession.

Another sad story about the Medicare Dis-Advantage Plans. It gets real when you have a hard time finding a good doctor you like, mainly because you are restricted to the small pool of doctors you can choose from. All I hear in a positive light from friends that are in The Villages Health plan is the "we get lots of free stuff and even a grocery allowance every month". Government handouts come with a price, even when it is so called free.

This has happened to me twice in the past four years. Both times I was offered other doctors in the same facility. Surprised this was not explained to you when you got the letter notifying you of your doctor’s departure.

I would suspect there's more to this story and the OP didn't advocate for themselves. Each clinic has a manager and maybe an advocate. OP should push further for answers instead of panicking. Raise a fuss there instead of on social media.

We have had a great experience with Dr. Agbo, Sinai Medical in Sumter Landing. He is extremely thorough, takes his time with each patient, is very caring, and his staff is exceptional. I used to go to Lakeview Health at Laurel Manor, and had a bad experience there. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I now have Dr. Agbo.

My name is Dr. Sam Alfano. I practiced Internal Medicine and Geriatrics for 35 years. My wife and I moved into Hammock at Fenney about 9 months ago. She was ready to retire, I was not. I took a job with VIPCARE. They do only Primary Care and almost exclusively Medicare Advantage. We recently opened a new Primary Care office here in the villages on Warm Springs Ave, near the entrance to Fenney. We are accepting new patients. Call and talk to me or my office manager Shannon. 352-775-1870. Or just stop by. We are golf cart accessible! We can fill you in on our practice and explain Medicare advantage. BTW, my wife and I have Medicare Advantage so I see it from the Doctors view and the Patients view.

YUP very true stay with original 4 agents told me this also

Ditto from my wife and I for Dr. Rivers-- 17 years for us and would NEVER switch!!

With The Villages demographics there should be openings coming

I play golf with 2 doctors from The Villages Health every week, one of whom I practiced with for 30 years. I asked them yesterday if ALL the doctors were declining new patients and they said not even close. There are openings particularly at Brownwood, Lake Deaton and possibly Pinellas centers. Also, as an existing patient, they would ALWAYS find a new physician for you. Sounds like there has been some miscommunication, I would advise talking to the practice manager at the center where you are currently a patient and straighten this out.

In a later post the OP mentioned they had BC/BS. There are only a small handful of doctors in TV Healthcare who accept that and those are probably unable to accept new patients.

Actually, it depends on whether he/she has Medicare or is under 65. I'm 64 and have BC/BS, and if my doctor leaves they will find a place for me. I still think the OP needs to pursue this further. While they limit patient profiles to 1,000 per doc, they still have to accommodate patients when a physician leaves. If they just say "good-bye" without a plan for a new doctor to assume care and transfer records, that is felony patient abandonment and doesn't fly well in the courts. When a physician left our group, we were extremely meticulous about assigning a new doc or transferring records to a physician of their choice, since the consequences, at least in New York, were Draconian.

Good to know.

But here's where it gets more complicated:

If upon hearing their doctor was leaving or at any subsequent time thereafter, such as being under the belief that "all doctors were not accepting new patients", the OP said they were going elsewhere, then the OP had severed the patient-physician relationship and nothing about patient abandonment applies.

Also good to know.