Just moved to Grand Junction 2 mos ago (health insurance, house)

[Grtdnm]

I Love the Grand Junction Co area and people are very friendly here. The only drawback we have come across is the medical field.
I have never had to "apply" to a dr's office to see if they will accept me as a patient. I am still waiting to see if they will accept me as the person that reviews the applications is out of the office and they are backed up with many apps. I am a relatively healthy person thank goodness or I could be in trouble waiting for approval for acceptance as a patient. It isn't my insurance, as I carry insurance through the federal employees health benefits plan and it's not only 1 dr office that does this. I have called many listed on my plan as accepting new patients and got the same response with a 3-4 month wait. I am just floored that Dr's can do this as a common practice and get away with it. To pick and choose who they accept as a patient, what happened to the hippocratic oath.

Beware of this issue before moving to this beautiful town, I wish i would have known before we purchased a house here. Now we are kinda over a barrel and at their mercy

[Vision67]

I remember this being discussed in another string about Grand Junction. I think there is a relative shortage of medical resources there. I know that the rates for individual health insurance policies are higher there than on the front range.

Now imagine if you were on Medicare or Medicaid. I think it would be even harder.

Retirees need to look into medical resources before they select a place for retirement. You might be surprised!

[pikabike]

I also was told to apply to be a patient, not in GJ but another Western slope town.

I did submit it and was accepted but decided not to go to that doctor for other reasons.

[westslopeguy]

Grtdnm,
Have you tried getting in to see one of the physicians in the Family Practice Residency Program? If you are as stated, fairly healthy, and without complex medical problems, that could be an option for you.
I work in a private practice specialty group in GJ (but I'm not a physician) and I see the problems getting in to see someone from the other side of the equation. I do not have any answers or solutions to the problem, but believe me when I say the problem is not going to be getting any easier to deal with any time soon.

[jwiley]

We loved Grand Junction but ended up moving back to the front range in large part due to my daughter's medical condition and a severe lack of even peditricians or family doctors. We guessed that the specialists would not be out there but as you said it was near impossible to get into see one.

[Westbound and Down]

Many thanks to the OP for pointing out the lack of physicians in Grand Junction. As can be seen from another poster, this isn't just an issue for retirees, but is a concern for families with children, too.

[Vision67]

Originally Posted by Westbound and Down

Many thanks to the OP for pointing out the lack of physicians in Grand Junction. As can be seen from another poster, this isn't just an issue for retirees, but is a concern for families with children, too.

I think that a good example of the value of reading C-D.

Find out things about a place before you decide to move.

[Thoreau424]

Gotta do your research first. Even when you think you've covered everything, there's often much more in the shadows, out of your field of awareness. That especially applies to things that can trip one up (insurance issues, hidden or surprise fees, employment environment, cultural differences, etc.)

[Colorado Rambler]

Health care in general has been adversely impacted by all the political uncertainty which is going on right now. In addition, Colorado's Western Slope has never exactly been a medical mecca to begin with. If you happen to be a person with a disability who gets coverage via medicaid, living anywhere in rural Colorado is starting to turn into a nightmare.

I live in the Four Corners area and I haven't found either a primary care doctor or a specialist anywhere since the beginning of this year when the family practitioner I'd been going to for years retired. I've called the Health First Colorado 800 number as per instructions on my paperwork. My calls keep getting automatically routed to the state of Michigan's medicaid office. Michigan doesn't even know what number a person in Colorado can call to avoid these bizarre computerized mis-connects. I've tried going online to check for specialists (again as directed on my paperwork). The online site gives me a list of specialists who work for the Native American Health Care Service either down in Shiprock, NM or else Gallup, NM. I am not Native American.

What I am is going crazy at this junction in time and I don't even live in Grand Junction. If anyone is a retiree with medicare coverage or a disabled person on medicare/medicaid like me, and you're considering a move to Colorado's Western Slope, I strongly suggest you check out what your medical options will be first - you may end up having to see a specialist in Tuba City, Arizona.

[Westbound and Down]

Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler

Health care in general has been adversely impacted by all the political uncertainty which is going on right now.

The physician shortage issue in the country began long before Obamacare came into existence, and long before the current political BS playing out in DC. I agree that there is a lot of uncertainty, and that there are major problems with insurance and access, but the issue of worsening doctor shortages has been known about for a couple of decades, and the federal government has done nothing about it, made no provisions to increase the supply of physicians through more medical school and residency slots.