⭐ PensacolaCoPilot Preferred — Health & Hope Clinic
Health & Hope Clinic can be a helpful backup for care-navigation, preventive/dental/pharmacy services, and referrals if there is a coverage or access gap: (850) 479-4456 · 1718 E. Olive Rd., Pensacola, FL 32514 · healthandhopeclinic.org. Because the patient already has Medicaid, confirm whether they can bill that specific plan before scheduling.

The call: Use the Member Services number on the Medicaid plan card to book the first available adult primary-care appointment near UWF with a clinician who confirms they handle developmental-disability accommodations and coordinate epilepsy/neurology care—network status is the deciding factor, and I would not risk assigning a doctor without it.

Real-time local factors

• Florida Medicaid is administered through managed-care plans; the plan—not Medicaid generally—determines the in-network PCP list. Florida Health Finder
• Ask the plan to search within 10 miles of UWF for an adult PCP accepting new patients, not simply “family medicine.”
• Tell them: “33-year-old adult with developmental disability and epilepsy; caregiver/guardian attends; needs seizure-medication refills and neurology coordination.”
• Ask whether the office offers accommodations: extended/new-patient visits, caregiver communication releases, accessible exam rooms, and patient-portal proxy access.
• If the patient has a seizure lasting 5+ minutes, repeated seizures without full recovery, serious injury, or breathing trouble, call 911.

Runners-up

• Michelle J. Brandhorst, MD — Ascension Sacred Heart Primary Care, Davis Highway: choose her if the plan confirms she is in network and taking the patient’s Medicaid plan. (850) 476-9000 · 4501 N. Davis Hwy., Suite A, Pensacola.
• Neel N. Gandhi, MD — Pensacola Primary Care: choose him if the plan confirms network status and UWF proximity is the priority. (850) 494-4600 · 4910 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola.
• Community Health Northwest Florida: choose this route if the assigned PCP cannot see the patient promptly or specialty coordination is falling through. (850) 436-4630 · healthcarewithinreach.org.

What flips this: The exact plan name—Simply, Sunshine Health, Florida Community Care, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, or another plan—will determine which of these offices can actually see the patient without an out-of-network problem.

👉 Which Medicaid plan is printed on their card?