Kaiser Permanente

[KigerKat]

Does anyone here have their insurance through them? DH's employer is doing a major insurance overhaul, and this is one of our options. We just got married last year, and I am newly added to his policy. We have normally both had PPO plans, and I know Kaiser is more like HMO.

He's gone through tons of different scenarios, and Kaiser is definitely a good choice when we are ready to have our first baby, but I don't know about regular primary care.

I just wanted to see what people who actually have it think about it.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I had Kaiser in the DC area for many years and was extremely happy with it. When I moved to Florida I had to give it up since they are not down here.

 

[G's mommy]

I had Kaiser when I was pregnant with my son 12 years ago. I had no complaints at all, I received top notch care and delivered at the top maternity hospital in the Atlanta area.

 

[monsterkitty]

I love Kaiser. I would never go with another plan. You can pick your own primary care provider through the company. I am not a picky person so I will see who ever is available. My friend will only see her pcp but can usually get in that day.

The best thing about Kaiser is that you can email your pcp and the doctor will answer your email that day. Saves on trips to the office and $ for the co-pay.

 

[Adi12982]

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Kaiser. I had them for three years while DH and I lived in DC. We had regular insurance and prescription insurance with them, any doctor's visits and prescriptions were only $5. All my lab work, CT scans and my PET scan were absolutely free (I was diagnosed with cancer back in 2003, so I had a lot of scans, often). The doctors were all great. I love that you can email your doctors and they reply within 2 business days and you can order prescription refills online. If you have their RX plan, you can even have your meds mailed to you for free. I cannot say enough great stuff about Kaiser!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I LOVE Kaiser, and it's not just because I work there. I swear!!!

DH got a job with Kaiser benefits when I was 7 months pregnant and they took me on no problem. My emergency c-section did not cost me a dime! This was before I was employed there. It's truly a one stop shop, I can see my Dr., get an x-ray, get blood drawn and fill a prescription all in the same facility on the same day. One thing I really really love is that I can ALWAYS get an appointment for me or my kids when I really need one, especially on a Saturday or Sunday. A new thing that our pediatics dept is doing now is that each provider has several open slots open everyday, so if I call in the morning and need a same day appt the odds that I will actually see my pediatrician are really good. I also really love the new e-mail your Dr. feature, it is so darn convenient!

I have delivered 2 babies by c-section with Kaiser and had a fantastic experience both times, one of them was an emergency! Both were completely free, no co-pays or anything. Of course that is dependent on the plan you have.

People either love it, or hate it, there doesn't seem to be a middle of the road. Kaiser is VERY different than any other healthcare plan out there and sometimes it takes a little getting used too. When I made the switch I thought it was a lot more user friendly than your typical HMO. They used to be known as the cheapest health care around, they are no longer the cheapest because they are really focusing on the quality of care they provide.

I can honestly say I would be saying all these things even if I weren't employed there.

I know a lot about the "system" let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Wow, I'm surprised so many are happy with it because from everything I've heard, they are the WORST! No personal experiences though, just know that they are HMO to the extreme- you have very little choices and they have their own docs/hospitals.

As for the major insurance overhaul, sadly it seems many companies are doing this and it's not for the better of the employees. DH's company offers a high deductible plan with and HSA and for as much as we shell OOP, I can't believe we have to pay premiums too. And don't listen to anything HR tells you- they put a positive spin on everything. We're supposed to be thrilled about paying thousands more a year because now we can make "better informed choices" about our health care.

 

[Leofoenget]

Does anyone here have their insurance through them? DH's employer is doing a major insurance overhaul, and this is one of our options. We just got married last year, and I am newly added to his policy. We have normally both had PPO plans, and I know Kaiser is more like HMO.

He's gone through tons of different scenarios, and Kaiser is definitely a good choice when we are ready to have our first baby, but I don't know about regular primary care.

I just wanted to see what people who actually have it think about it.

Thanks for the info!!

I am 43 years old and I was born at Kaisar. I have it for my family and
L-O-V-E it. One thing I like about it, is, say on a sunday morning at 5am your kid gets an ear infection . You can call in, and once appointments open up at like 7 am they will book an appt for you to see a doctor. You will NOT have to camp out in the stupid ER all morning. I have had this happen more than once and have been in and out with meds by like 9:30 am on a Weekend! OR Christmas day or whenever. And it's pretty darn cheap

anyhow I love it

 

[minnierocks]

One more vote for Kaiser!
We have had Kaiser for a very long time and I would not go with another plan...Cost-wise, Kaiser is our best choice. I have my regular doctor (who is not in a Kaiser building and I have seen her since I was in high school), and I have such a variety of doctors and hospitals in our area. I don't always have to go to the Kaiser facility, but even when I do...I am very happy with the service that I receive. The only place that I have experienced a long wait in the Kaiser facilities was at the pharmacy. I have never had to wait a long time past my appointment time, and I have always received friendly, helpful service.
I can't speak for other areas...but Kaiser in NE Ohio is fantastic!

 

[MomofM&M]

We recently switched to Kaiser after I switched jobs. I had to purchase my insurance out of pocket and the only gripe I have is that they wouldn't insure my husband because he had been on hypertension medication in the past.His issues have since resolved but they wouldn't insure him after filing an appeal. If you are getting the plan through an employer though, I don't think there would be any problems under a group policy. So far my experiences have been great. When I had vertigo, it only took a couple days to get in, and they were going to try to get me an earlier appointment but I didn't try since I was trying to wait it out. My daughter was seen the same day I made her appointment. As a person who works in healthcare, I can see that they are pretty conscientious about quality of care and wait time. All over the facility, in the waiting room, radiology, pharmacy, there were signs saying to speak to someone if you have waited more than 20 minutes for your appointment. The few times I have actually gone in for a visit, I was always seen promptly. I guess the way they keep their costs down is by only insuring the healthy and this I have a problem with. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with them.

 

[Miz Diz]

I also live in the Atlanta area and had Kaiser last year. My dh changed jobs and now we are with a PPO. With Kaiser, we paid the same premium and less out of pocket. PPO is more out of pocket, but less of a hassle and can go to any doctor.

Kaiser is a real pain in the rear if you need a referral to see a specialist. It took 4 trips to see a doctor (so yes, 4 copays) and her regular pediatrician laughed at me and told me she there was nothing wrong with her - saw him twice for the same issue. I went to another facility and saw another doctor. On my 2nd visit with him, he gave me a referral and said, "Kaiser doesn't like giving referrals. I don't think there is anything wrong with her, but I will give you the referral." My dd sees a rheumatologist now and she has an auto-immune disorder that requires a yearly urine test. She needed that referral - so good thing I was persistent.


We were at WDW and dd got sick. The same doctor gave her a prescription for an ear infection - amoxicillan - even though she has a proven record that amox does not get rid of her ear infections and needs something stronger. Every single time she had an ear infection they did the same thing - amox, then she got another round of something stronger. (I finally went back to the other facility and got that other doctor who ended up approving the vaccine for the ear infections). Anyway, the day after her amox was gone, we were at WDW and the fever came back and it was 102. I called Kaiser and they told me that I was out of network and they would only cover a doctor visit if I took her to the ER, which had a $100 copay. I ended up having a doctor come to my room and paid out of pocket.

My friend has Kaiser and she had trouble with her pediatrician (same one my dd was seeing). She told him she felt her son needed to be tested for dyslexia and he told her he didn't and that Kaiser didn't cover it. She paid out of pocket (couple thousand) for the test and he does have dyslexia. She now sees another Kaiser dr who told her that Kaiser does cover the testing, but too late because she did it on her own. On the other hand, this same friend now has colon cancer and she said they have been surprisingly good and she has had no problems.


My other complaint about Kaiser - you have to go to their facilities and if you need a dr on the weekend, only select facilities are open. It would take me about an hour to get to the nearest one with weekend hours.

 

[mominwestlake]

We are another family (in Ohio) that loves Kaiser. I have had 3 babies using Kaiser. When one of the kids gets sick, we get in that same day.

 

[Janet Hill]

Kaiser is wonderful for routine and preventive care. They SUCK if you have a chronic illness. My theory is if they don't kill you, you will just wish you were dead. My husband's diabetes care (Type 1) was horrible and bordered on negligent. They really don't like to spend extra money, so if you require something not in their pre-determined treatment plan, be prepared for battle. My husband was prescribed a medication that carried a very distinct warning for diabietics, neither their pharmacy, nor their doctor apprised him of this and after getting sicker and sicker he paid out of pocket and went elsewhere to find this out.

I went there when I had my second child at the ripe old age of 40, and they had me in tears when leaving every appointment. Seems like their primary concern was telling me all the horror stories of advanced maternal age, so if something did go wrong their legal butt was covered. (I had another child at 42 and received very supportive care elsewhere). I went to the hospital in labor at 3:00 am and was sent home by the OB on call telling me I was far from delivery and to come back in a week. Before I left the nurse whispered to me she would see me in a couple hours and to make sure I came back. Yes, I got back to the hospital at 6:05 am and delivered at 6:25 am.

There are some good doctors at Kaiser, but good luck getting an appointment. They are the ones that are always booked.

 

[SGMCO]

We have had Kaiser for 3 years, It took me 2 years to get used of how
they do things. They will give you a Primary DR right away but if you don't like them you have to go through the process of changing that DR to
another (but 1st you have to try to figure out another DR that you may like to switch to). Once that is taken care of, if you get a good Primary DR then
everything will go smoothly. You will also have to go thru the process of
getting a Gyn. (if your a woman)--I asked for a referal of a good Gyn. from
my Primary DR that I liked--it has worked out. I also had to fight to get
med. that I was on for my Asthema (before Kaiser) because it doesn't have
a Genaric alternative (they only want to give Genaric meds) and you have
to have a really good reason why you can't take the Genaric alterative in
order to get the more expensive meds.
The cost of your meds are very reasonalble (even for the one med. that doesn't have
a genaric alternative--when I had to pay my part of a refill (on other insurances)
that med. cost me ($80.00 OOP-one month supply) with Kaiser the same Med only cost me ($25.00 for a
2 month supply.
Everything is going smoothly now with Kaiser and we will be staying with
them for now because other insurances are just to expensive and we can't
afford them.
I can also say they we have had several different Health insurance coverage over
the years and all of them have had there flaws some worst than others.
I am now OK with Kaiser and have gotten used to them, you may not have
any adjustment problems like I did, they are worth a try.

 

[KigerKat]

Thank you guys so much for your input and comments. DH and I are both pretty healthy, other than my mild asthma and allergies and his acid reflux. I'm a little concerned about the last reply about the asthma med, because it sounds like you might be referring to Advair - which I currently take and doesn't have a generic equivalent. I'm alright with taking generics, and I wish there was one available for Advair.

Overall, it does appear to be the most cost-effective plan available for us. I think we might try it for a year, and if we don't like it then we can always change our mind during the next open enrollment period.

 

[Magix]

I was with Kaiser many years and decided to try Cigna this year. I'm switching back to Kaiser for next year's coverage. Once you're accustomed to how Kaiser works, it's a great HMO.

I've been through my own care, my aunt's care for liver & kidney problems and my mom's care for colon cancer. Kaiser did a good job with each. With my aunt, there was one error in the hospital that was a major problem, but could have happened with any healthcare provider. It was an error by an individual and not an HMO error.

I'm far more comfortable with Kaiser and feel like I'm better able to switch doctors and get in to see someone whenever I need to. I don't tend to see the doctor often, so I'm not too worried about seeing my primary care doctor each time. If I need a same day appointment, I can always get in and see a provider who will be helpful.

As with any plan, though, you do need to stay on top of your care and be sure that you're receiving what you feel you should be. If you feel someone has misdiagnosed you or isn't paying enough attention to your symptoms, see someone else and get a different opinion. You'd have to do that with any healthcare plan/provider.