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You're probably better off researching elsewhere.
As you you see, you're gonna have a devil of a time finding something that suits your needs on LI. Not worth the grief and aggravation just to be close to medical care. It's not all that great here on the island even though the Koolaid suggests otherwise. Plenty of more affordable areas with quality medical care. You just gotta do your homework. But not Florida. They have rotten healthcare providers. It's like the island of misfit doctors. Avoid Florida.
But not Florida. They have rotten healthcare providers. It's like the island of misfit doctors.
LOL, "misfit doctors", good one!
Sadly true though. Even Medicare is somewhat of a horror show in Florida. For example, Florida is one of those states that use "attained age" to set the prices for their Medigap (Medicare supplement) plans. That means the older (and probably sicker) you get, the more your premium goes up every year. By the time many people hit 80 -- and sometimes before -- they are priced out simply because of their age and end up having to drop the coverage just when they need it most.
New York is one of the best states in the US when it comes to Medigap underwriting. Not only does it base premiums only on the part of the state in which you live (and yes, Long Island is lumped in with NYC and it is the highest tier) but they do not take any health history into account (they cannot even ask about it when you apply) AND you can buy in or drop a policy at any time of year. That last factor (called "year-round guaranteed issue rights") is huge because it means you're not restricted to any stupid Open Enrollment Period nonsense. Only FOUR states offer this perk: New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine. That's it. Nowhere else.
I don't know about Stony Brook Hospital but Long Island does not have a lot of great hospitals with Northwell/LIJ monopolizing health care. They are a factory and the doctors are ok with run of the mill things but not anything requiring great skill.
That’s the stop! Can’t wait!
Any particular towns? I like Boothbay Harbor
Don't want to hijack thread too much, but yeah somewhere along there maybe. Boothbay area, Bristol? I want land. Lots of it. But not *too* far from the coast. Wanna be isolated but not total twilight zone, and semi off grid for now. Maybe total off grid at some point. I want a minimum of 20 acres.
I don't know about Stony Brook Hospital but Long Island does not have a lot of great hospitals with Northwell/LIJ monopolizing health care. They are a factory and the doctors are ok with run of the mill things but not anything requiring great skill.
Good Sam is like a roach motel. Patients check in but often don’t check out.
I totally agree. Good Sam is horrendous. It's all pretty with designer decor but the care is abysmal. I speak from personal experience, both on my own account and my son's, for surgery and ER visits multiple times because we lived in West Islip for 40 years. Horror stories about poor care at Good Sam from friends as well.
Southside Hospital in Bay Shore used to be awful before NSLIJ/Northwell took it over; it has been much improved. It does have a busier ER than Good Sam, as you would expect from its location. Although I will say that even in the mid 1980s I got better care at Southside than I did at Good Sam.
On the flip side I have had nothing but good experiences at Huntington Hospital which is also now part of Northwell. Been there twice for surgeries (2009 and 2012) and twice to the ER.
ETA: Someone mentioned the quality of the doctors affiliated with Northwell. All I can say is that in my personal experience they've all been excellent. The doctor who did my cancer surgery is repeatedly among the top docs in Castle-Connolly every year and I can't say enough good things about her. Same for the other Northwell physicians I've used. Actually some of the most disappointing or problematic docs have been the ones affiliated with the Mt Sinai group, and the Stony Brook G.I. whom I consulted for a second opinion and was supposed to be such a top guy was one of the worst docs I've ever encountered. So it's clearly YMMV wherever one goes.
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