Opinions on Kaiser insurance

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking of switching my federal health insurance plan to Kaiser from bcbs. Any opinions on how these compare? I live near a kaiser center so it would be very convenient for me.

[Anonymous]

I had Kaiser for several years (now with Tricare b/c of husband). It was fine. I liked having all the services in one building and not needing to find my own doctor. I never felt that the doctors were withholding any services/screenings just b/c it was managed care. If you are the kind of person who just uses medical care once in awhile and you don't have any complicated-intertwined medical issues, I think you'll be happy with Kaiser.

[Anonymous]

I love it and have had it for 7 years. It's great, cheaper, they all coordinate my care. The only weird thing is you can't go to CVS/Rite Aid/Walgreens for prescriptions, but I really love Kaiser's mail order. Fast!

I was in the ER in a non Kaiser Permanente hospital (different state)- Kaiser covered everything 100% and I only paid my $125 copay. They rock!

[Anonymous]

Had it for 10 years, as a single adult, then for both my spouse and me, now for our two kids too. Love it, everything in one place. I've had two surgeries in addition to labor and delivery for the kids, and paid nothing.

I've heard from others that the turnover rate for doctors is higher, but that has not been my experience, so I don't know if it's true. I like my primary care physician a lot and love our pediatrician. The urgent care is very convenient, too.

[Anonymous]

I had it for several years and switched to BCBS because it was just too restrictive. If your health needs are fairly straightforward, you will probably be fine but if you need anything beyond what's considered very run of the mill treatment you may experience problems.

I also wasn't terribly impressed with their doctors. For example, when I wanted to discuss my debilitating period cramps, they tried to send me away with a prescription for Prozac. I learned later that I had severe endometriosis and had to have surgery.

YMMV

[Anonymous]

I liked it very much when I had it. My understanding is that the doctors are actually getting much better. They used to hire the bottom of the barrel docs, but now they turn away doctors. I have several friends who are MDs that would love to work for them (no office expenses, management and billing is all done for them, etc.). It's like most insurers -- nothing is perfect. If you don't like one doctor, you can switch within Kaiser to another.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you live, but you should look into which hospitals are covered by Kaiser. I live in the burbs of VA, and the hospitals around me do not accept Kaiser, so we have to go all the way into Arlington if we have Kaiser.

[Anonymous]

I've had it for about 5 years now and have liked it pretty well. Childbirth had been my biggest medical event though. The one negative has been high turnover. I've had 4 primary care doctors so far and 2 obgyns. My 2 year old is on her 2nd pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Ive had it for over 12 years and have had the same primary, same OB-GYN and pediatrician. Love it.

[Anonymous]

I've had both and prefer Kaiser. (I'm in Fairfax and not sure what the PP is talking about, going to Arlington for hospital treatment: there is an urgent care center at Tysons and I delivered my kid at Reston, no problems.) I like the overall model, the online tools for scheduling and record keeping, and their focus on preventative care.

It may not be right for you if you have unusual medical needs or like to see a specialist, other than an OB, without a referral. I've never had any trouble seeing a specialist when I actually needed one, but the GP handles a lot of things I might see, say, a dermatologist for in another system. Mental health care also can be difficult to access on an ongoing basis, although they are great at crisis care.

My big complaint, which is true of many doctors but especially Kaiser GPs, is that they are trained to recognize the most common ailments and presentations of those ailments, and aren't really good at identifying unusual issues. If you have a common disease presenting in a weird way, or a weird disease that looks like a common one, they are not terribly likely to get it right. I had that experience at BCBS too, but to a lesser degree, perhaps because it's easier to go straight to a specialist and bypass the GP who can't know everything about everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had both and prefer Kaiser. (I'm in Fairfax and not sure what the PP is talking about, going to Arlington for hospital treatment: there is an urgent care center at Tysons and I delivered my kid at Reston, no problems.) I like the overall model, the online tools for scheduling and record keeping, and their focus on preventative care.

It may not be right for you if you have unusual medical needs or like to see a specialist, other than an OB, without a referral. I've never had any trouble seeing a specialist when I actually needed one, but the GP handles a lot of things I might see, say, a dermatologist for in another system. Mental health care also can be difficult to access on an ongoing basis, although they are great at crisis care.

My big complaint, which is true of many doctors but especially Kaiser GPs, is that they are trained to recognize the most common ailments and presentations of those ailments, and aren't really good at identifying unusual issues. If you have a common disease presenting in a weird way, or a weird disease that looks like a common one, they are not terribly likely to get it right. I had that experience at BCBS too, but to a lesser degree, perhaps because it's easier to go straight to a specialist and bypass the GP who can't know everything about everything.

Agree. This was 10 years ago, but when I wanted to see an individual therapist they told me I had to go to a class instead. Perhaps some of the MH parity requirements have changed this policy.

[Anonymous]

I've had Kaiser for about 10 years and love the ease of getting an appointment- especially for non urgent short term things like ear infections. If your doctor is out, there is always someone to see.

When my daughter was born, she had a birth defect that could potentially cause problems. We saw many specialists at Children's in DC and Kaiser never balked. When she was first diagnosed it was during open enrollment so we asked if we should switch. They said that usually approved everything and was certainly no worse than any other insurance.

[Anonymous]

Love it! But, I have heard they can be difficult if you have a preexisting condition but, that's probably most insurance companies.

[Anonymous]

I'm a mental health professional who's had many clients complain about their experiences with therapists at Kaiser. I get the impression mental health may be a weak link in their system.

[Anonymous]

Run away. I had them in California growing up and they were terrible. Told me my torn ligament was a bruise, and made me suffer with a knee that would just pop out for years without agreeing to even an MRI or surgery. Told my father his appendicitis was a flu and let his appendix rupture. Recently, didn't diagnose mom's blood clot for days, treating it as a flu, and when they finally figured it out, claimed it was then too risky to operate. She died a week later. Bad cheap system that I will never ever use for my family. If you came in with a fever saying you had been to Liberia, they would definitely send you home and tell you to take some Tylenol. Bad.