Medical Services
 

We have a good Hospital close by and they appear to be well run based on awards for a great place to work and having an excellent financial operation. MY only concern is they are very selective on what types of insurance they accept. It appears they only accept the best and most consumer costly companies. There are many Village residents who have purchased insurance from various vendors in Lake County all claiming their's is the best, then low and behold you find out later the Village hospital doesn't accept the plan. It's discouraging, simply because these Medicare Advantage and other plans as well are highly touted by Medicare and in most cases are similar to what Medicare pays for coverage. You also have situations where new doctors accept the plans then after developing a patient base they drop the plan. We need to encourage our medical operations to be more attuned to resident needs. After all, if they can write of costs associated with Medicaid patients who don't pay their bills, then they can surely accept insurance that may pay sightly less then the big companies.

Re: Medical Services
 

Did The Villlages Regional Hospital (TVRH) provide you a reason for non-acceptance? Have you talked to your insurance company? Most reputable insurance companies do not like to have their coverage rejected because they know that such things will kill their business quickly. Hospitals need your business too. It's not only the medical institutions that are involved in in the issue you cite. In a third-party payor system, well-run insurance companies negotiate with the medical facilities. If TVRH rejected your insurance, there must be a very good reason. Hospitals can write-off only so much bad debt just as they can only accept so many medicare patients. The balance of their income comes from third-party payors who pay full-price. It's business and hospitals that don't think this way....go out of business. I saw this happen to a 700 bed teaching facility where I did an internship. A 125 year old hospital....gone.

Re: Medical Services
 

Best thing to do is to give The Villages Regional Hospital a call to get your info on this matter right from the source. The main number there is (352) 751-8000. Leesburg Regional Hospital is about ten miles away....but TVRH is part of their system. Next nearest hospital is Munroe Regional in Ocala and they are not part of the Leesburg system. Good luck.

Re: Medical Services
 

Lots of military retirees here and TriCare Prime is accepted just about everwhere. I have a problem, personally, because the Villages Hospital is not part of my "network" for my PPO. The only time you will have a REAL problem with medical care is if you have an HMO or PPO. If you have the Blues or TriCare, etc. MEDICARE you should not have any problem.

I would just caution you if you have an HMO or PPO. If you can change them before you move, then do it. I could not as I am tied into the benefit as a retiree of Marine Corps noappropriated fund activities.

Re: Medical Services
 

i wonder if they accept United health care. We look forward to moving down after retiring at age 60. Husband is CSX employee and I am an RN.

Re: Medical Services
 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT INSURANCE COMPANIES THEY DO COVER? ANY ADVICE AS TO WHAT INTERNIST TO SEE FOR A GENERAL DOCTOR? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, MEL

Re: Medical Services
 

Your best bet is to check with your health plan administrator. Tell them where you are moving. The zip code over here and a lot of the Villages is 32162 and with that, you should be able to get a list from the administrator of your plan, of doctors and hospitals who are participating in your plan.

You can also call the Villages Regional Hospital and ask their insurance person if they take your plan. Leesburg Regional is another hospital you might want to call.

However, your BEST bet is your health plan administrator who is likely in your Human Resources/Personnel Office and they will have the information you need.

Be prepared to understand that a lot of the doctors here are foreign born and it is important to know that if it is a concern to you. As I said on another thread, if you get a few names of doctors from your plan administrator, you should be able to find out where they went to medical school and where they did their internship and residency. It is always a plus if the doctor studied or interned at a major American hospital but only important if it is important to you.

Re: Medical Services
 

[b]Another way to find out about doctors' backgrounds is to check on the internet. Go into Google and type internists (or whatever) in Florida and they will usually list cities or counties to choose froom or ask for your zip code. Most will give you a brief background. Some ask for $$ but I found adequate info without paying. Unfortunately, I discovered this after I had made several mistakes here in selecting doctors because I had no one to ask. You are very wise to check beforehand.

Re: Medical Services
 

Beware of a gastroenterolgist who likes to put a smiley face on billboards. This MD has done damage to quite a few patients and continues to practice. I hesitate to name this MD due to potential lawsuit.

Re: Medical Services
 

Yes, they participate with United Health Care. My husband was in Leesburg Regional a year ago and after we paid our deductible, everything else was taken care of. EXCELLENT care at Leesburg. Heard lots of complaints about ER at TVRH.

Re: Medical Services
 

The best way to do it is to either go to the internet site of your provider or call them to find out what doctors or hospitals are covered by your plan. When I went to the Villages Hospital for a procedure they said that they accepted my insurance. Yes they did - at the 80/20 clause in my PPO contract. If you understand 'in network" and "out of network" then you know what to ask your plan provider.

Bill

Re: Medical Services
 

they participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida

8)