Dear Valued Customer:
I am writing to you to share some disturbing news about your health insurance through MVP HealthCare. Many of you needed to make a tough choice about your insurance plan prior to mid-December. In order to make that decision you required the facts: How much will it cost? What are my co-pays? Where can I receive the services I require? Unfortunately, MVP has decided to go ahead with a major change in the ease of which you get your products was decided before the New Year but may not have been communicated to you.
MVP has told us, in a letter dated 12/23/2013, that they are greatly reducing your options of where you can receive your medical equipment or supplies. As of 6/30/2014, MVP will no longer allow us to service you for your equipment, products & repair services. No explanation was given in the letter and their verbal reason is the costs associated with Managing 95 different fee schedules. We find this to be very little in cost savings, but will mostly create havoc on you the member as you will need to drive much further to receive products and services. From conversations with others in the industry, we have come to the conclusion that the list of providers has been trimmed to just a few. They went from 95 providers in NYS to just 15 providers.
We are surprised that MVP would exclude the number of companies based in Rochester. Most of the companies that do have ‘retail locations’, (ie: stores full of product for customers to browse) are the ones which are being dropped from the panel. None of the remaining providers have Saturday hours or extended hours for your convenience. Most are chain companies specializing in Oxygen service and do not have deep ties to the community with local ownership. Of the company’s remaining, I do not see where and who will provide you with Orthopedic, Ambulation products, Incontinence products, Diabetic Shoes, specialty Women’s health etc. Just trying to purchase a Walker or Seat lift chair means that a Westside Customer will have to drive all the way to Monroe Ave in Pittsford to pick one out. Our efforts to negotiate with MVP were by many and by showing them where we feel are contractual gaps in the system by keeping Westside off the list. I do not believe this decision would have been made if MVP was still Preferred Care, a proud Rochester company. MVP is headquartered in the Capital District of NYS and most decisions are made by people there, not here.
We have asked MVP to reconsider their position and I urge you to place a call to your Group or Employer contact to voice your concern over these asinine changes. Our attempts to have MVP reconsider, has fallen on deaf ears. This is an attempt to save additional monies as you the member may get discouraged by this inconvenience and ultimately decide to pay out of your own pocket when you have coverage. We encourage you to contact Customer Care at MVP and/ or the following people who may have the ability to make a change and add us to their list, but only if the complaints are overwhelming.
You may voice your concerns to MVP Customer Care by phone or to the following people:
Brenda Nelson -Network Operations
Matthew MacKinnon- VP Network Operations- Schenectady
Sue Brown- VP Customer Care Centers- Schenectady
Denise Gonick- President/CEO- Rochester
Monday – Friday, 8 am to 8 pm, Saturday, 8 am to 4 pm (Eastern Time) Toll Free: 1-888-687-6277, TTY 1-800-662-1220
Or in writing at:
MVP Health Care Customer Care Center P.O. Box 2207 Schenectady, NY 12301
Or
Senator Schumer’s info:
Schumer, Charles E. – (D – NY) 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510. Call (202) 224-6542 or contact: www.schumer.Senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm
Thank you,
Ron Nettnin, President