@kaka50 I live in MN and have a Medicare Advantage Plan which has covered appts in Nephrology and Hypertension at the Mayo Clinic since 2023. I have a video appt next Friday. I asked about video appts when I noticed that the only things he and my local nephrologist do are listen to my heart and lungs and discuss my CKD. Driving to Rochester in the winter can be treacherous. I have five appts this month to have my heart and lungs heard. That happens four times a year.

My nephrologist at Mayo also arranged for me to have a Dual Scan CT to confirm a pseudogout diagnosis. That diagnosis was a prerequisite for being seen in my local HMO's Rheumatology Department (where gout and pseudogout are treated) but the staff didn't know where that Scan is available. He also made it possible for me to be seen in Infectious Diseases when I had a secondary infection during covid that persisted afterwards.

I should probably say that I think it's possible that one of the reasons that I was given an appt with that particular nephrologist is that he led an international team to find patients like me who have Immunotactoid Glomerulopathy (ITG) and had published on ITG. I am one of about 100 known patients and one of only about 10 who have the idiopathic variation.

I called Nephrology and Hypertension directly to get started with appts after I called Blue Cross to ask about coverage. Perhaps my coverage area (I'm in the Twin Cities) is different from yours.