...HMO crashes...nobody told

pic just taken of "normal" website?

I just checked the PUP website (Mon 5:30PM et) and it's still there...acting as if nothing has happened.  I have heard (finally) from someone but I don't know who they are.  It was in the mail from an outfit calling themselves " Florida Medicare Options" or "FMO Medicare Options" but not saying if it's a state govt. outfit formed to help the 38,000 (or 50,000 depending on the news report your read) members out of luck with PUP. I called the 855 number...and it rang and range...no answer.  They are located in Orlando.  I guess I have to revert to searching the news reports on PUP to see if they are worth trying again!  Isn't this mess incredible!

HOW NOT TO TREAT THOUSANDS OF HMO MEMBERS...WHO STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR HMO IN FLORIDA!!!!

I am a member of PUP...or at least I was until it went broke.

Then...I had to find out from my Doctor’s office that “your insurance is no good.”

I’ve never heard of an HMO going under so I told them I would check their website...and I did and it seemed normal.

However, I called their “hotline” and there was no answer so I became suspicious.

I went to Google News and put PUP in for search and got nothing on the P.U.P. HMO...so I put in “Physicians United” and an Ocala newspaper had a story about it going broke for the some 38,000 members in Florida....but there wasn’t much information other than it went into receivership.

It’s now six full days and I’ve not heard word directly...from the defunct PUP HMO...or the State of Florida.

Other news stories trickled out with information about the state covering the insurance until the end of June.  Some stories mentioned 50,000 members...other...38,000.  They can’t even get that right.

Finally the State of Florida issued a statement...NOT for the thousand of members...but for the doctors and hospitals...telling them Medicare would cover the expenses for now(?) and the continue to treat PUP members.  Actually they stated the members had been flipped over to regular Medicare so they would be covered that way.

Still nothing from Florida to me...informing me what was going on.

This is a mess and it’s been made more of a mess because nobody knows how to handle it!

where’s Governor Scott?  Not word one from him...or from former Governor Crist who is running again.  You think he’d be all over this one.  But then maybe he’s partially responsible for an HMO surviving this long on shaky financial ground.

Will somebody tell me what’s going on here?

By the way the PUP website is normal and leaves the impression that all remains normal.  I just checked it. (MONDAY 5:30 PM ET)

Meanwhile I have signed up with another HMO. I do not want to be on regular Medicare.  I was once and that sucked big time.

Stan Major

Tamarac, Florida

stanmajor@aol.com