A Priority Partners Member Story
Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for the first time can be a thrilling drive, offering amazing views of the bay. As the only route connecting the area’s major cities with the Eastern Shore, though, it can get super busy — which is not so thrilling if you need to cross the bridge to get to a doctor’s appointment.
Yet many of the half-million people who live on the Eastern Shore side of the bridge have to do just that.
Rosa Matos is a professional Spanish interpreter who lives on the Eastern Shore in Salisbury, Maryland. As a Priority Partners member for over 10 years, Rosa remembers the struggles of raising four kids and having to travel long distances just to get in-network health care.
Other plan’s networks make you have to go outside of Salisbury to see a doctor,” Rosa explains, “sometimes as far as Baltimore or Washington, D.C. With Priority Partners, I don’t ever need to go across the Bay Bridge.
Rosa also recalls the frustration of having to wait for weeks or months to get an appointment. There are nine different managed care organizations, or MCOs, in Maryland. Each has its own network of health providers, pharmacies and health facilities that members can use when they need services. While it has been easy for her family with Priority Partners, Rosa has seen how her clients and co-workers on other health plans have struggled to get care.
“Often they can’t get specialist appointments,” she says, “even for ultrasound or X-rays.”
Rosa works in a children’s clinic, has four children, one grandchild, and is completing her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. Years before Rosa was a Priority Partners member, her daughter needed to see a skin care specialist, or dermatologist. The closest one in her previous MCO plan network was located hours away in Washington, D.C. She has not forgotten the long drive or the burden of not having convenient health care access.
Not so long ago, Rosa was in two car accidents within the same year. She received injuries that needed specialized care and physical therapy. As a Priority Partners member, she was able to find in-network specialists close to her, often right in the Salisbury area.
Specialists accept Priority Partners right away, with no need to wait,” Rosa explains. “That’s been a blessing for me.
Rosa believes that Priority Partners has been very helpful to her, making it easy to get physical therapy and needed prescription medications. Priority Partners’ pharmacy network includes most chain retailers plus independent pharmacies throughout Maryland.
I’m glad that we have Priority Partners,” Rosa affirms with a smile in her voice. “It’s been easy for me and my kids — everything has been smooth and easy. I love Priority Partners.
