What is the approximate age of your PRIMARY Medicare provider that accepts assignment

[GailL1]

I would like to know if many of you would give me the approximate age of your PRIMARY CARE Medicare provider - your best guess or you could just say something like  

• Young (new to primary care) or
• middle age or
• older or
• close to retirement age.

AND Are they a medical doc ?

Need as many as possible to respond - to get an idea of what you are seeing in your area as far as on going availability 

Thank You

[jo85336578]

Interesting survey. My primary care provider is approximately 48 years old, an MD and female. I actually interviewed her after my long-time PCP retired and I was VERY impressed with her listening skills and empathy. At present, I see her annually for my physical exam but more and more, I visit a nearby CVS Minute Clinic that I can  usually visit "same day" with no hassle for conditions ranging from muscle strains or sleep issues to just excessive ear wax buildup. To your question of availability, I would opine that smaller towns suffer more from shortages of physicians than larger cities where I live. There appear to be plenty of providers here at this time.

[GailL1]

@jo85336578 

So you had no problem finding her an getting a new patient (under Original Medicare) when your other PC retired?  Did your previous PC recommend her when he retired?   

I really don’t live in a small town - only because of the area I am in is it sparsely populated but that is because of environmental factors ( Water Shed area).  I am actually only about 30 miles from the city of Atlanta - other areas around my area is densely populated.  However I do live in a minority majority area and am just seeing lots of PAs and NPs taking on the roll of personal care for many.  That is not necessarily a bad thing but I am also hearing that trying to find a (new) regular MD for such care is difficult for those on Original Medicare.  Perhaps it is more of a regional thing,  I also live vry close to a large hospital chain - 8 miles at the most. 

Many people in my area are also fans of Medicare Advantage plans - perhaps special needs plans or like a  Kaiser MA , who is in the area too - They also like ACOs - all care in one central place.  

I am still ole school and have stuck to my aging PC - but I am afraid that he is working himself a bit too hard.  He is also an aviator doc - you know the one that give flyers their initial or renewal physicals.  

Thanks for the reply -

[jo85336578]

You asked whether my former (retiring) PCP recommended my new PCP.  I knew for the two years prior to his retiring so I pleaded with him to recommend someone but he was very professional "I really can't give you one name over another." Finally, he relented and said that if I would give him three names of doctors, he would give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. Silly of me, but I brought in names of three PCPs, none of which were in his practice!  It was only then that he told me that there was one particularly excellent diagnostician (he knew that I was always proactive about my health). So he gave me her name and I did set up an appointment to discuss "ways to avoid diabetes" since my mother became a Type II diabetic. I was so impressed with her that the decision was easy and consider her the captain of my health team.  I'm glad that I stayed in their practice partly because of the strong medical staff but also because most of the lab work is done in-house with quick turnaround. And by the way, my former PCP (the retiree now) often had NP students from a nearby university med school working side-by-side with him and told me many years ago that "you're looking at the future of medicine right here" - pointing to his NP students in a most positive way. And by the way, although he is retired from active practice, I learned that he volunteers his time with geriatric patients at his age past 80. He's got a "good heart." He is a blessing to our world.

[GailL1]

Mine is 60 and he is an MD and is a solo practitioner.  No PA or NP on staff.

So he alone sees all his patients.  

So I took a glance at the Medicare Provider locator in my area to see the availability of Primary care docs cause some new Medicare beneficiaries told me they were having problems securing an appointment as a NEW patient with Original Medicare.

Several were told that they were not accepting any NEW Medicare patients at the present time.  

My doc says this is a financial decision on his part since he does not like to be overloaded with any particular plan, he likes a balance and right now he says he does have a lot of Original Medicare patients  - he takes Original Medicare, some MA plans, commercial  and employer plans as well as Medicaid.  

Anyway when I was searching for how many primary care docs were in my area on the Medicare locator - I was astounded to see the number of free listed NPs and PAs that were listed.  

So I am just wondering how just how bad the shortage of primary care doctors are gonna affect Medicare - their age and their own retirement would play a part in this.  

Asking about their title was just to see how many are seeing a NP or PA on a regular basis rather than their MD or DO.  

As always, thank you for your response.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

Not sure Gail @GailL1 , but his kids are in High School & College. Probably 40's. Yes, as far as I know he is a Medical Doctor.

What about you?