Looking for better treatment
 

I am going to be kind and just say that I am very disappointed with TVHS.. My current Doctor (for some reason... money?) refuses to see me regarding an ailment that the Practical Nurse says could be "Serious". I have been ill now for almost two months. Getting the required imaging is taking a month. I know the "Snowbirds are here but I live here year round. Shouldn't that account for something?

Anyway, can anyone, please, recommend a Doctor that is responsive, please!

You should try looking to see IF there are any doctors in the area that will accept your advantage plan, you appear to be experiencing one of the problems with managed care programs. If (big if) you have not been in the advantage plan for a year you MIGHT be able to get back to traditional Medicare and then you will have a much wider choice of doctors.
I hope this works out for you.

Please specify what you mean by TVHS. I am enrolled in The Villages Health System (the official system owned / operated by the developer). In my experience there is no way your scenario would happen there.

I have no idea what a practical nurse might be. Maybe you mean nurse practitioner certainly not an LPN. But might be serious is a long way from is likely to be serious. No doctor who likes keeping their medical license will refuse to see an established patient. That is abandonment and is taken very seriously by medical boards and trial attorneys.

If you are in the Villages Health System, they are not paid by you or per patient seen so it is not money. There are lots of places besides Lake Medical Imaging that can do Xrays and scans. They are going to get you in sooner. Lake Medical does not do stat MRIs no matter what the nurse ordered.

A headache can be just a headache or a brain tumor. See what I mean by "might be serious" A good history and good exam often guides the intensity of the evaluation. The nurse practitioners have far less training than MDs and DOs and within the Villages system they certainly discuss their cases with their supervising physicians.

If you want to communicate with your doctor, who you claim refuses to see you, send a portal message to the doctor asking what is the next step. What you might learn is that the next step is to wait until it is your turn to be imaged then to come back and be seen with that information now available.

If you're on TVHS, you're on a Medical Advantage Plan ... which means you don't have control of your healthcare, your provider does. You're on a "managed plan", which is exactly what it sounds like ... they manage, you suffer.

Medicare Advantage Plans are paid a fixed amount by the Medicare program and they have to services their clientele with that amount of money, less the "freebies" they give out, to get people to sign on. There's currently an open enrollment period (until 3/31) when you can switch out of an Advantage Plan. Unfortunately, if you switch out in Florida, you're not guaranteed coverage or pricing.

Medicare Advantage plans are popular, but some seniors feel trapped when ill : Shots - Health News : NPR

2023 51% of all seniors are on an Advantage plan. That's a lot of suffering ! Apparently misery likes company - lots of it !

Mrs Bogie and I have been on the managed plan for15 years…..neither of us has suffered!

I know. It's unfortunate that Medicare didn't turn out like it was designed and so many Americans are stuck buying Advantage plans, because they can't afford Medicare & Supplemental insurance. It's a national tragedy.

We have been on an Advantage plan since we moved here four years ago and happy with it. When we need specialist dr has no problem referring us to one either in their group or outside it.

Note to self - Notice how this went from what doctor do you recommend to Medicare plus supplement Vs Advantage plans in a heartbeat ?

No.

It went from "my medical provider/insurance company" won't schedule an appointment with a specialist I need ... to ... "here's why that's likely happened".

Show me ! I can't find "that quote "!

There you go.

I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree but please direct me to the quote "my medical provider/insurance company" Interpretation is vastly different from quotation.

Not everyone using TVHS is on Medicare Advantage. I have FloridaBlue, from the marketplace. Not managed care at all, it's a PPO and I have no problem with TVHS at all. I might change my mind in 3 years when I'm eligible for Medicare but right now I'm happy with my doctors and my medical care at TVHS.