Summary and background:

We are a new private primary care and mental health group located in Bartow, FL 33830. We have not only met barriers with credentialling with local hospitals, but we have also been denied insurance contracts from most major insurance companies including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and United Health.

We feel that these insurances companies are underservicing their clients/members by not allowing providers to join their networks. After extensive research on this matter, we have discovered this has been an ongoing issue for the last 4 years in Florida.

Their networks are locked and by not allowing more providers into their network, their clients, our patients, are unable to schedule appointments within a reasonable time and are complaining that their qualified in-network providers are as far as 50 miles.

At Silva Family Center we are striving to bring the neighborhood family doctor back. We want to treat the patients in our own backyard and give them more accessibility to our practice. What also sets us apart from other providers is that we serve the LBGTQAI+ community with health equity, health solutions, and mental healthcare where they are comfortable, respected, and not judged.

Dr Silva wants to provide care for everyone in collaboration with local hospitals and healthcare providers, however Dr Silva is being met with many obstacles in doing so.

How can an area be designated as a healthcare shortage area, yet insurance companies are saying their clients have enough providers to meet the needs of the community? Please sign this petition and help us fight the discrimination we are facing.