Torrance Memorial IPA

Nancy at THIPA refused to issue a denial of my multiple request for out of plan knee surgery by my THIPA family physician by simply canceling my family physician’s request in the computer system, then when confronted with this subterfuge, claimed that the requests were for consultation! I did go to a THIPA orthopedic who also requested the same referral to an out of plan orthopedic because no other surgeon within THIPA could do the surgery. AGAIN, instead of denying, THIPA CANCELED the original request in the computer system so the request did not even exist!!! Even the nurses were aghast at what happened when they saw the request they entered was simply cancelled! Nancy’s supervisor Thelma refused to talk with us. Under Blue Shield procedures, a patient cannot appeal without a denial. So I strongly believe Nancy and Thelma conspired to illegally delay and block my right to appeal. As a result I suffered from months of delay and have to pay for the surgery upfront pending my final appeal to Medicare.

I have been with Torrance Memorial IPA for many years. I've had two surgeries which required overnight hospital stays, I've been to the emergency room, and have had many, many procedures, such as MRIs. During my time with them every doctor, nurse, radiologist, etc. has been extremely friendly and respectful. All my requests for medical approvals were fast and the small issues I've had were handled quickly by member services. I'm now moving away and hate that I must leave Torrance Memorial IPA. They are all outstanding.

Torrance Memorial IPA was unhelpful when my Dr retired and I needed a new primary care physician. While they sent out flyers advertising physicians, when I needed to make an appointment they didn’t know when the replacement would be available - and gave me 3 different numbers to call - none helpful - all shunted me off to another number. When I requested my records be sent to my new UCLA physician - you got it - they don’t help in any way. I am out of town and my husband is at risk for COVID - I have to go into the office and sign the release no mailing, emailing or texting the form. Unhelpful, unaccommodating, inflexible and they sound like they couldn’t care less on the phone. Very poor.

Great service with great doctors in the network. I am very pleased.

Denied life saving surgery for a stage 4 cancer patient

Casey at Utilization management department is so rude and disrespectful

I've been with Torrance Memorial IPA for years and have rarely had problems. I trained customer skills in the service industry for over 20 years and expect the same from my health care providers. I say they are top notch. You can look at my reviews and see I rated one star for a doctor who is with them who shouldn't be allowed to practice medicine, much less be with their group. But I don't expect them to be perfect and after that experience it was easy to change doctors and find one I love. From an administrative standpoint, my pre-authorizations have been approved fast and I've never had issues. In additon, my experiences with the staff at the hospital, from radiology to when I've had overnight stays have all been positive. The only complaint I have is I don't understand why when I see doctors within the group, I must fill out the same forms over and over again. It seems it would be easier on them, and me, if that wasn't necessary. The reason I logged in is because I'm moving and just got off the phone with my insurance. I hate I'll be leaving Torrance Memorial IPA and wanted to put in a good word before I do.

Carmen! This review is for HER. She is always there for me when I call in totally fed-up with our healthcare system and how things are handled. I am often frustrated, upset, and annoyed by the time I reach her, having already exhausted all other avenues to get things done or questions answered. She has always gone out of her way for me, keeps her word when she says she will follow through, and always has a good attitude even when I don't. I always feel relief when she is at the office, especially when she is the one who answers the phone. I don't want to add any more work to her plate but if you need answers or assistance, she is the one to ask for. Thank you Carmen for always being there for me, even when I come in hot!

I've never had issues with the Doctors or Torrance Memorial Hospital staff. This review is regarding the authorizations/ customer service department specifically a customer service representative named Nancy. I've been trying to get an approval for my autistic son to get services that are out of network. For a couple of months I have been going back and forth speaking to everyone on how and what to do to get these services. Nancy was very rude and very unprofessional. Dismissing me of what I had to say and basically calling me a liar of situations that had happened with her. I contacted my Insurance company who 3 way called to understand a situation and she denied ever speaking on the phone with my Insurance company saying that she would never 3 way call with an insurance company. I also called over two weeks ago and there was no record of me speaking with anyone about my authorization. If dealing with anyone at TMIPA write down the name of the person you are speaking with and time because apparently there are no records of them ever speaking to you.

Wooooooow all those bad reviews!!!!!, and I just switched to TMIPA, since now I live in Torrance, hopefully I don't regret it cus my previous IPA Lakeside was the best very efficient in getting the referrals processed and approved in matter of one week the most, I did not have to wait a long time or nor I did have to call to get status of any of the referrals order by my previous PTP, I had to change cus there are hardly any PTP's in the south bay area that are affiliate with Lakeside that's why i had to change to TMIPA, hopefully I am one in a million and have a good experience with them will find out when i see my PTP for the first time of course and start getting referrals to all type of specialists I might need to see; I will let you all know, in the mean time want to give the benefit of the doubt to all the very bad comments on this website.

Oh how grateful I am to be back in the South Bay with HMO health insurance. Only a couple of days after I went to my Torrance Memorial Primary Care Physician for a regular physical, I started to see black spots in my vision that wouldn't move. I called my doctor's office and asked for a referral to their ophthalmologist. I said I just had been there 3 days ago and this is the only new problem. "Oh but we have to have documentation." Blah. I took multiple calls and multiple employees, multiple attempts to schedule with the ophthalmologist before I finally learned the effin' referral was held up for "medical necessity review." They ALWAYS do this. Even though they have their own facilities and employ their own doctors and do their own services, they have some bureaucrat who has to spend "7 to 10 days" leisurely thinking of ways to deny health care that they can easily provide. Then, good news! 2 weeks later they called me! Torrance Memorial's medical group (THIPA) approved my referral and I can call and schedule whenever I'd like NOW THAT THERE'S A DEADLY CONTAGIOUS PANDEMIC. No thanks--utterly uninterested in an eye exam that requires me to enter a specialty care facility where I'll probably become ill for a month. Absolute garbage standards of care. Do not trust the administration with your life. Go somewhere else. EDIT: Thanks for the response, Erik. I tried to contact you but the "contact us" form doesn't even work. Your company sucks.

This week I had aortic valve replacement surgery at Torrance Memorial Hospital. It was delayed for several weeks due to the COVID19 virus. From the beginning, while this was a scary event in my life, everyone on the staff were so kind and helpful - Doctors, nurses, medical assistants, volunteers - all of them. I am so grateful for the level of care I received. A big thank you to you all.

My rating for this organization is zero! My wife and I will switch to a competitor asap! A complete and utter hot mess of a business, to be kind. The CEO and Board, if they exist, are totally AWOL. To be fair, the receptionist is good. Every other employee that I have dealt with in person (yes, I even went to their office) and/or on the phone has been non-responsive, flat out liars, rude, dismissive, etc. I was flabbergasted at their incompetence, indifference and total contempt for the people they are paid to assist. Assist? Good luck with that...

I had questions regarding my billing. The Customer Service provider "Connie" was very helpful, kind, and patient. Thank you for explaining what the charges were for when the paper bill did not describe the service as online telehealth or virtual care screening. To me, the paper statement looks like a visit to the Doctors office when in reality it was FaceTime or Zoom. Bottom line, Connie in the customer service billing department took care of me, left me with a smile on my face after having paid my bill and I want to say thank you.

I have used this medical group. There was a really good representative named Loretta who always helped me. She retired. She always checked on referrals and I even got money back once for overpayment for a co pay I believe. Also Nancy is pretty good too. She works very hard.i admit the voice mails are on a lot. You just have to keep trying. I believe all the doctors also are connected to Torrance Memorial. They always pay the claims very promptly. All in all I was pretty satisfied with them. And if a doctor gives you any static you can complain to them about it. I guess they are over the doctors in seniority. That's how it's run. If I had a choice I'd take them over some of the other networks. Pretty decent people and doctors too.

I have had various occasions to use the services at Torrance Memorial Hospital. Some experiences were good, some not so good. On the positive side, their radiology department is great for outpatient procedures. They are very well organized and the technician I had was extremely nice and accommodating. I felt very comfortable there. The ER was not so great. I called in advance to find out how many patients were waiting as I did not want to go to a hospital with a long wait due to being in pain. At first, the person who answered the phone refused to tell me anything saying that things change rapidly here so if there are some patients there now, it could change by the time I came. After telling her I was in pain and was looking for a hospital with a short wait, she finally said the wait wan't bad. The doctor was cold an unsympathetic. She darted in and out of the room, never giving me enough time to ask questions. Later I found out that she ordered way too many tests because the first test had already pinpointed the problem. Why she ordered more tests, I don't know. One of the extra tests was a CT scan which had a lot of radiation. My own doctor later told me it wasn't needed. Unless this is the only local hospital where there is a reasonable wait in the ER, I would choose another hospital first.

I am so furious with THIPA I am afraid of what I may put in print... wish I could give THIPA a ZERO rating!!!!!!!!!! I became bombarded with bills approx. 4 months ago. I contacted THIPA to inquire why my bills were not getting paid. THIPA blamed MEDICARE. Supposedly MEDICARE stated I had more than one insurance coverage... I emphasized to THIPA that I only have ONE insurance NOT multiple. The young lady who assisted me stated THIPA would contact MEDICARE again and clear up all the multiple bills I had received. Fast forward to today and I found my cellphone taken over by COLLECTIONS for NON-PAYMENT!!!!!!!! I called THIPA this afternoon and explained how furious I am because I had spent hours talking and working through all the billing with a person 3-4 months prior. The young lady today admitted THIPA had inquired about my insurance and that THIPA had resolved the correction to my having only one insurance policy... HOWEVER, THIPA NEVER PROCESSED PAYMENTS!!!! I had loved my choice of doctors ( South Bay Family Medical Group), specialists and locations of treatment for over 33 years associated with Torrance Memorial Medical Center. I had so much trust in TMMC that I gave birth to my one and only child there. This debacle of a billing fiasco has got to STOP!! My high blood pressure has gone higher today than it has in years. I will keep praying these stupid people who run and work at THIPA will become professionals at the jobs they are trusted to perform or go work for a greasy spoon that pays minimum wage they deserve.

Find another health group! Have had nothing but issues with Torrance Health IPA. Claims take months and months to get corrected with numerous calls from the carrier, insurance agent, and myself. Approvals for MRI's or scans drag on. When you call and leave a voicemail message, no one EVER calls back. I am not joking when I say I left 5 voicemails messages on different days for different people in the claims department and no one called me back. Having been diagnosed with cancer, you can image the amount of claims and tests that needed to be done. I wish I would have had a different medical group when I was diagnosed.

Horrible. If you have a choice, go elsewhere. They are unresponsive. The claims department is rude and in my personal experience, was lied to on more than one occasion - or miraculously the management team was in a meeting on 5 separate occasions. Never got a call back either. As for the doctors, I feel for them, the really good one I had left - I see why.

Horrible customer service. Was difficult to book an appointment and even more difficult to work with their staff. Ended up going out of network just to avoid dealing with them.

This is the WORST facility you can go to!! I switched doctors Since I moved and wanted a doctor closer to my new house, my insurance said this facility works with torrance memorial so I agreed since my previous doctor also worked for torrance memorial in Manhattan beach. I made an app on Feb 3rd for a physical and told me to fast for blood work. When I get their it's a small place but that didn't get to me I waited and waited and doctor Ludmila W Afonicheva (which was going to be my new doctor) told me that she was sorry she was all alone and didn't have her assistant. I still gave her the benefit of the doubt and said it was okay she passed me through took my weight and was rushing me she said I Weighed less and that I know I weight more than 50 pounds less than what she said and I told her that can't be right and she said "well that's what it is" I said okay w.e did my vitals and apologized that she couldn't do my blood work because he assistant wasn't their so she sent me some where else to go get the blood work done.. mind you I've been fasting for 10 plus hours at this point. I get to the place she sent I wait another hour, I get it done, now I'm just waiting for my blood results. A week passes by i call and tell the doctor I haven't received my results she said I have to contact them to send them I said okay already furious at this point another week pases by and still no results so I call them again furious to let them know I haven't received my blood results in over 2 weeks. I get the results and I notice some things out of range that I'm concerned about I call and ask for the doctor so she can explain what my results mean, she says that I have to make an appointment for them to explain my results it's Wednesday today and didn't have and opening untilI next Monday I said really just to explain my results, she said "yes that's how it works here". I said okay thank you so much and hung up. It really wasn't going to take more than 5minutes and to wait 5 days for a 10 minute visit wasn't worth my time. This is my worst experience I have ever had at the doctors I called my insurance and I told them I wanted to go back to my old doctor it's really worth the drive to receive great service. This practice is GARBAGE!!

Horrible service in their claims/billing department. If you ever have any questions on any of your bills that thipa is responsible for, don't expect anyone to answer the phone. If you are lucky enough to get a phone call back after numerous vm messages, don't expect them to know what they are talking about. They either need to spend some money and hire more employees, or attempt to re-educate the current customer service staff!!!

Worse than horrible service in their claims department!! Connie J. is spot on in everything she wrote in her review and if you ever need claims to be paid by THIPA you are better off paying them on your own. I have been TRYING to get my claims paid for a year already and that's after I filed a grievance AND had the independent medical review board step in and still none of my claims have been paid. I would give them less than one star if I could.

Wow, so many negative reviews below, though honestly I've had very good experiences with Torrance Health IPA (THIPA). Rather I haven't had much contact with them since they've approved pretty much every doctor I go to, including my awesome family doctor. That's the best you can ask for right? They have a much better network in Torrance than Healthcare Partners so it's more choices. Just do your homework and see if the docs you want are covered, it will save you many headaches. If they're in network THIPA won't give you the runaround as far as I've experienced.

The doctors are wonderful. However, the claims department and customer service are the worst group of incompetent people I have ever run across. They repeatedly reprocess claims incorrectly. I have still have one going back to January 2011 where they have agreed that it needs to be paid, but continually screw it up. In the meantime, they continue to lie to me and to the insurance company: saying it has been taken care of. But it never is. If it weren't for the wonderful doctors, I would have nothing to do with this horrible IPA.

I have experienced the same issues with billing issues as Connie J. i finally complained to Blue Shield but they stonwalled them also. i qualify for a senior health assessment and met similar problems. They have slick marketing but do not come close to delivering. The premise of the assessment is one of feeble old senile people and does not take into account that there is a sizable group of healty people between 65-85 who want to stay that way. Do not go here to get help. I am a PhD, have a healty 6 figure job consulting in a very competitive technical field. What did they ask me -- to show them if I could still tell time -- a preschool question. In addition, their blood pressure measuring technique contained approximately 7 errors per AHA guidelines. The reasson -- doing it the right way is not cost effective.

i really like their self refferal program. its the closest thing to a ppo when having an hmo.ive self reffered myself to an ortho, dermatologist, and podiatrist. their member services are very helpful as well.