Mayo and Medicare
 

Does anyone have any currant info regarding mayo clinic and Medicare?

I understand that they do not accept any Medicare advantage plans. Is this correct?

Does anyone know if they accept Medicare with a secondary (medigap policy) ?

Don't tell me to just call Medicare. I'm looking for conversation regarding experiences with Mayo using your Medicare plan.

I've heard from many that you must pay upfront, then get reimbursed. I've also heard that Mayo routinely charges an extra 15% over the approved Medicare amount?

I have read everything that you posted. I have no current experience with Mayo but have been told by agents that they accept Medicare. I have also been told that they do not accept Medicare asignment ( what Medicare pays). Some Medigap plans pick up the overcharges and some do not. Plan "N" does not, Plan "F" does. Even if someone was treated there last month I would still call the Mayo Clinic and ask them myself if I was going there and tell them exactly what insurance I have and what medigap plan. Good luck !!

I think that is a pretty good answer. Now for the magic question---what is the attraction of Mayo Jacksonville? Remember, this is nothing more than a bunch of Jacksonville doctors that "bought" the franchised Mayo Clinic name and have agreed to follow their protocols and quality assurance program. They did not become "superstars" overnight. The same is true of all the Joselin Clinics scattered across the country as well.
When I first moved to central NY from NYC, the big "name" in healthcare was the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Penn. Everyone was saying it was the best in the world. Well, I never heard of it before. Amazing what a name and a little advertising can do.
I'm sure there are some pretty good doctors at Mayo, but don't assume they ALL are great because they practice under the umbrella name of "Mayo Clinic"

They fixed an ankle problem for me when several sports medicine practices didn't know what to do. They have a different attitude there.

I agree with you. However, there are some specialists that are at Mayo in Jacksonville that are not available close to where I need. That's the only reason I was asking.

Gerryann - there are several links on the Mayo Clinic JAX website regarding insurances accepted. Here is one:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-vi...pted-insurance



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I was hoping this discussion would come up sooner or later. When I was in Ft Lauderdale the Cleveland Clinic bought a hospital. They brought in a well known MD from the Clinic. He then tried to hire community docs to fill out the clinic staff. It was amazing to watch the patient flow, especially by seasonal residents who didn't have a clue.

Franchising has been a fad for awhile. MDAnderson would start/take over a cancer center for a hospital. A couple of million $ up front, and a million $ or so a year, would give the hospital use of the MDAnderson name, a doc, and management. One thing they forgot was MDAnderson wasn't the household name in PA that it was in TX.

The John Wayne Cancer Center tried the same thing on a regional basis, as did UCLA. Children's hospitals seem to have had slightly better luck at franchising.

Buyer beware, and do your research.


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Like the post just above, a lot of time a MA plan will approve out of network charges if the service is completely unavailable in network. Mayo, MD Anderson, Sloan Cleveland Clinic are different. They generally are not Medicare participating providers, so they can charge what they want, request (ie: demand) cash up front and may help you submit charges. They generally do this with any insurance. There are two "chains" notorious for this---Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Laser Spine Institute. For reasons that would take 2 pages to elaborate, I would steer clear of those places. Dbussone, do you agree?

Mayo and Medicare
 

I do.

Interestingly, CTCA seems to be loosening up a little, but still maintains what I would consider a very aggressive billing/payment posture.


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Feedback
 

We have used Lahey Clinic, MD Anderson, Cleveland Clinic, and currently other than the Urgent Care at Sumter Landing only use Mayo in Jacksonville. Have been misdiagnosed twice in the Villages both pretty serious mistakes. Ended up at Mayo and they said in both cases they were insignificant and to disregard the misdiagnosis. Now only go to Mayo. We have both medicare and blue cross/blue shield and have not had a problem. One way Mayo is different is that they bill the Insurance Carriers/Medicare but have the reimbursement sent to the patient and the patient sends the money on to Mayo. Regarding why Mayo. It is a teaching hospital which is No.1 in care/treatment. As a Dr. once told me, the key to any illness is the diagnosis. Almost any Dr. can treat an ailment if there is a correct diagnosis. As an example if you have a "Pancrese problem Mayo is currently conducting a 10 year study of the Pancrese.
In addition, if they have a question regarding an illness or desease they can and do call on their large facility in Rochester, Minn, as added input. We have never been disappointed with Mayo and it is the best 3 hour drive we make. Why go to a single Dr. and risk the ability of that Dr. when there a great specialists within 3 hours. We do use Dr Tran for skin cancer.:ohdear:

Agree!

Several years ago I was referred to Mayo in Jacksonville because there was no Nephrologist practicing in TV at that time. My Urologist knew I had a problem, but did not know the extent of the problem. My experience with Mayo was excellent and I would certainly go there again if there was no one here that could help.

Key Point
 

It was sort of downplayed in one note that Mayo's claim to fame was their agreement with Rochester, Minn Mayo to live up to its "protocol and quality assurance". Those are a couple of critical points, "protocol" being a key policy and practice. Some practices are for Dept's to sit each week or as needed to discuss difficult cases and treatments. That seems to be a significant improvement over one Dr. in a single practice determining what is best or a group of "same" Dr's deciding what to do when there are potential monetary considerations with the decision.
I one time asked why the Dr's were so good at Mayo/Lahey, etc and was told that the Clinic's watch the Dr. very closely for the first year and if during that time they don't measure up they are not at the facility very long. :popcorn:

I recently had a friend who felt he needed o go to the mayo Clinic. His insurance was Medicare and he was told there were no openings until after January. The reason is that because Mayos typically lose money on Medicare patients, they only accept a limited number of Medicare patients each year.

Very informative. Thank you.