| Blueblaze |
03-11-2022 06:14 PM |
We went through the same thing last year. We finally gave up and switched to Humana in January, because of the dentist problem. The Villages Healthcare had actually sent us a card last year announcing that they were taking Humana for 2022. But then, in January, we discovered that they were only accepting one specific HMO plan, so obscure it didn't even appear as an option on Humana's web site. Not only did they refuse to see us with OUR Humana, they even locked us out of our health records so we couldn't even transfer our own records to a new doctor!
Oh, well... we never got to see our Villages doctor anyway -- they always shuttled us off to some nurse practitioner. So at first I wasn't too upset about moving. But the alternative is even worse. Now I can see my new doctor anytime I want, but I can't understand a word he says!
And Humana for dentists isn't any better than United. They give you $1000 to spend, and when you look at their network, they make it look like there are hundreds of dentists to choose from. It's a lie. They're all dentists that at some point worked for Aspen, and Aspen is just a corporate outfit that new dentists use as their first job. A grand total of six actually still practice in the Villages. But I guess if you like Aspen, Humana and Aspen's six dentists might be your solution.
We waited months for an appointment in late March with Liza Hall at Smile Design, who was supposedly the only Smile Design dentist in-network for Humana. This week they called and gave me a cock-and-bull story about how they messed up their scheduling and now they can't fit us in until LATE JULY. It was obviously just their chickens--- way to run off the last Humana patient. I told them to stick it where the sun don't shine.
Between Covid and moving, we are now going on two years since either of us have had our teeth cleaned. I guess we're going to have to get on a plane and go back to Houston to find a dentist. I wouldn't mind paying out of pocket if I could find one who would give you the price up-front. Good luck with that!
The healthcare options in The Villages are abysmal. I think you need to get outside the bubble -- way outside. Like maybe Jacksonville. Whatever you do, don't take an HMO plan. If you get really sick you're going to need to go out of network. You need a PPO.
Sorry for the long post. You hit a nerve.
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