I am nearing 68 and have a genetic progressive disease but have no one but myself to rely upon. I can't find a primary care doctor who cares to learn about my disease and help me to deal with things like loss of eyesight, balance problems, increasing jerking of hands so I "toss my food," memory problems, etc. I make a small fixed income, but too small to qualify for Medicaid. I want my independence, but I am also very lonely. If it matters, my disease is called MERRF and is caused by a specific mitochondrial DNA mutation. It is a rare disease and can turn from asymptomatic to terminal quickly or never. I lost my youngest son at 35 and my 49-year-old son is severely affected and worsening. My symptoms don't seem as severe, but they are also of the type that are less visible. My activities are very dependent on my eyesight (reading, piano, computer research, etc.) but I have optic atrophy and it is worsening. What other kind of details do you want?
anewleaf says: "l make a small fixed income, but too small to qualify for Medicaid", di you mean TOO MUCH (HIGH) to qualify for Medicaid? What about your son, does he qualify?
Do I understand correctly that you have Medicare plus a supplemental, and that your supplemental is a high quality which you pay only about half for compared to what you would have paid had you not been a state worker? If this is the case, you DON'T belong to an HMO, you neither REQUIRE nor NEED TO CONSULT a primary care physician (PCP) to get you to another doctor, in other words, you can self-refer, is that right? You already see a neurologist and have you also had a PCP? If so, what kind of doctor was that?
I googled "geriatric doctor spokane washington" and I got 5 doctors. Usually hey geriatric doctor is a family practice doctor or an internist who's taking additional hours to be able to qualify as a geriatrician. You can do the search then call each individual doctors office, tell them you need your medical care to be overseen by a geriatrician and ask if they take Medicare plus supplemental.
If you find you want to answer these questions and do these things, I look forward to an update and probably new questions?! MERRP is very rare. I am a nutritionist and would appreciate being able to follow your case. My email is listed on my profile page if you would like to email me privately.
But even if there is not a directly accessible website to help you, I was able to relatively quickly and easily get a Medicare CSR on the phone line, tell him my need, and he emailed me the list of providers. Good luck!