Kaiser Permanente Insurance Reviews
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
About Kaiser Permanente Insurance
- Quality of care from medical staff
- Convenient access to multiple services
- Affordable prescription prices
- Ability to choose healthcare providers
- Long wait times for appointments
- Communication issues with staff
- Billing discrepancies
Kaiser Permanente Insurance Reviews
Filter by Rating
- (83)
- (29)
- (24)
- (111)
- (1,137)
Popular Mentions
- 4,881,224 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
Recent
- Recent
- Oldest
- Most helpful
A link has directed you to this review. Its location on this page may change next time you visit.
- 4,881,224 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
Reviewed June 12, 2019
Multiple billing and service issues! I have been with Kaiser for two years... Customer service is a joke, they messed up my billing for three months after I called them numerous times. Do it for your health.
Reviewed June 11, 2019
The doctors at Kaiser are basically insurance agents. My OB botched my cesarean and cut into my bladder. It was horrible recovery based on her medical negligence. She lied to cover it up and said there was something wrong with me and I shouldn't have any more children. A year later I had another cesarean with no complications. Obviously with another doctor. He told me she was incompetent and being dishonest in blaming her medical error on my nonexistent excess scar tissue. I have had new medical problems in the last six months that my current doctor has tried to dismiss, and misdiagnosed. The doctor is acting like you're wasting their time, they're just trying to get through their appointment as quickly as possible and do the least amount of work possible even at the expense of your health. I will be switching my family to other insurance the next enrollment period.
Reviewed June 8, 2019
I have Kaiser Permanente to my job and the care that I received is extremely poor not to mention unaffordable. I have to use the service because the insurance is through my job and with health issues the doctors seem to act like they're listening but however do not tend to the medical needs properly. Not to mention I'm paying a premium through my job withdrawal of my paycheck. Each visit to the doctor is $30 which forces mean to neglect certain illnesses. And on doctor visits I feel like they are not attentive to my medical issues and I have to return for the same issue with inadequate explanation and additional $30 visit fee.
Reviewed May 26, 2019
I switched to Kaiser 4 years ago because you don't have repeated charges for ongoing hospital care, I was told (this is probably true). The copay was slightly higher than Sutter, but to avoid possible substantial billing if hospitalization were ever needed (my husband almost died and Sutter took care of him, but it ended up being prohibitively expensive to cover our portion, and with Kaiser the story would have been much more economical, so I switched).
I then had a suspicious skin patch removed and was told by dermatology that since I now have a history with them for skin concerns, I have the rights to dermatology appointments in the future. I was told I probably developed the skin anomaly due to my teen and young adult years on swim teams and excessive sun exposure. My primary care Dr. also reiterated that since I'm on the record for dermatology care, I'm good to go. That was about 10 weeks ago he told me that.
Then, three months ago, my asthma got really bad and remained out of control until even today under Kaiser's watch. They put me on **, and **. These didn't work and I was suffering. Finally, I was placed on **, and **. I asked for a nebulizer as it's very scary when you feel you're losing control of your ability to breathe. I was denied. I still am not in control of my breathing and it's May 26th. It shouldn't take this long. I suggested allergy shots which worked in the past for me for other allergy symptoms and my suggestions were 100% disregarded, even though my understanding is that asthma is actually microscopic allergies within your lungs.
Also, I have Hashimoto's disease, and Sutter used to monitor my thyroid every six months. Kaiser doesn't even ask how I'm feeling. All they do is refill the subscription with no questions asked, and never a suggestion that they revisit your labs. Ever. I'm glad getting refills is easy, but I don't like the sense of wonder. I brought it up myself after noticing routine bloodwork after a physical showed my thyroid levels was way off. Only then did they let me see an endocrinologist who told me it would just be that one visit, and that after that, I'm back to my primary care Dr. only. Fast forward a month, and since I'm feeling a little better now with the breathing, I revisited the skin issue, especially since I've joined an adult Master's Swim team and am back out in the sun. Kaiser knows this.
I asked for a skin scan and was told I can "try" by calling the number, but they do not authorize routine skin scans as there is very little evidence that they are beneficial? How does this even make sense? If a suspicious spot is detected and removed, isn't that being proactive which would translate to "beneficial?" I emailed my doctor and told him that if I get turned down for a skin scan I am switching back to Sutter. My mom had skin cancer and had it removed; I am fair skinned and green eyed, and they KNOW they removed a suspicious spot in the past, and that I have heavy sun exposure now. How is it even possible that their logic makes any sense unless it is to save money? I know that Sutter can be more of a drain on my pocketbook, but it's hard to put a price on health, especially preventative health, so I'm pretty sure next open enrollment, I'm leaving Kaiser. I gave them four years to impress me, and disappoint they did!
Reviewed May 10, 2019
I have been trying for months to get my and my new wife's accounts combined. Twice, they said they would mail me a form, which didn't happen. Then I finally complained online and someone who was very nice called me. She faxed me the form and I filled it out and faxed it in. They didn't bother to read the cover letter describing what I needed, and the form was very vague, so they sent me right back to customer service. I've gotten the runaround twice. Their customer service is really very poor. Kaiser works great, if you dont ever intend to make a change to your account. If that happens, then watch out, they suck.
Reviewed May 9, 2019
Trying to pay Kaiser is something of nightmare for me. 50/50 they lose my co-payments. They then charge me extra for not paying them. With no notification. They send me to collection. With no notification. I call them and, after a lengthy conversation which always sounds like the Kaiser staff don't know how their own system works, pay. 50/50 this works. Otherwise, I continue to receive external alerts that Kaiser says I owe them money. This has become a nightmare. The problem isn't my bank. The problem isn't me the user. The problem is either a glitch with their payment system or the incompetence of their staff.
Reviewed May 7, 2019
We live in an area where the only Kaiser Pharmacy is clear across town. We have used a local grocery store pharmacy for years, and Kaiser will not cover any of my medications if we use that pharmacy. I have type II diabetes and high blood pressure. So, we are forced to use their pharmacy. For a couple of years, my doctor prescribed a medication, in addition to my **, which helped keep my blood sugar numbers within a controlled state. It also helped lower my A1C level to pre diabetic numbers. Apparently, Kaiser felt this drug to be too expensive to approve, and superseded my doctor's prescription. Now, my levels are once again uncontrolled and my A1C is high. My diet has not changed one bit, and I do not consume sugar or carbs. I guess my life is not worth more than the mighty dollar. Thanks for nothing, Kaiser.
Reviewed May 4, 2019
For two years Kaiser misdiagnosed my bilateral hip dysplasia. The only way to fix hip dysplasia is through a surgery called a PAO, which reshapes the pelvis. There are only three surgeons in the state of Colorado that can perform this specialized surgery, and none of these are Kaiser surgeons. For my right hip, I had a wonderful surgeon that was not Kaiser, but the hospital was a Kaiser covered hospital, so Kaiser paid out of network to have my right hip repaired. Now I need to have my left hip repaired, but my surgeon changed hospitals to a hospital that is not covered by Kaiser. Since I am a teacher, it is important that I get my surgery in the summer so that I miss the least amount of school because this is a 13 week recovery period. I had scheduled my left PAO surgery in January for a June surgery date.
I am now being DENIED my SURGERY because my surgeon is working in a non-Kaiser hospital. There are NOT ANY KAISER surgeons and Kaiser hospitals that cover this surgery. Kaiser claims that they will cover conditions that Kaiser doesn't have specialists for. However, they need to put their actions where their mouths are. In the meantime, I am having a lot of hip pain and suffering. Currently, I am fighting to get this lousy insurance to approve my surgery next month. I am disappointed with Kaiser. They misdiagnosed me, and they don't have the proper specialists to fix certain problems. Kaiser is too limiting, and you can't get the proper treatment you need.
Reviewed May 4, 2019
Good luck... with your membership if you are a senior in Northern Ca. I would have rated my Kaiser experience a 4 star just a few years ago, but what a difference a few years make. From threatening to cancel my senior care advantage, (I used an out of area facility once, and they incorrectly insisted that I needed to change my area membership), sending a bill to an address out of state, and 7 years old... then sending me to collections because I was totally unaware of their mistake, to denying that they had sent me to collections, to advising me on a regular doctors visit that spritzing a small actinic keratosis spot on my face would cost $150 because it is considered "cosmetic". (I had recently had a similar spot removed and sent to the lab as precancerous).
After moving from Oregon (wonderful care), to No Cal, I had to choose a new doctor. She refused to renew the prescriptions from my previous doctor because "I might forget how many I had taken, take more and die... All old people do this type of thing. She also could not diagnose a very basic problem that I managed to do myself by going online... Aura migraines. Now I have to choose a new doctor. I have severe back problems and have been managing pain with no more than one ** a week for approx 20 years.
Guess what? No more ** management for me... I am too old... and yes, I am very aware that there is an opioid crisis. Only extra strength ** now. It does no good. Only upsets my stomach. All this in only 7 months. Can't wait to what else is in store for this member of Medicare. Would switch to another plan, but it is just too much trouble. By the way, my recent care in Oregon would be rated a 5+. Has Medicare actually rated Northern California recently?
Reviewed May 3, 2019
After many years as a member of Kaiser, I can attest to their poor health care services. It seems that too many of their doctors (and pharmacists) receive questionable training overseas, and they don't speak English as a first language. I've been subjected to the doctor "behaving inappropriately," being forgotten while waiting at the pharmacy, and carelessly prescribed meds to which I'm allergic. All of this has happened to me not once, but several times over the years. When scheduled for surgery to repair a prolapsed bladder, the surgeon insisted on also doing a complete hysterectomy, to which I balked. He did it anyway, once I was sedated! His reasoning was that I didn't need those organs anymore so why not remove them in case they cause trouble down the road?! Within a few years of that, unexplained bleeding occurred.
At first misdiagnosed as simply aging, a second opinion from a different OB/GYN revealed sutures from the unwanted hysterectomy causing the bleeding. A second surgery had to be done to remove the sutures, and that surgeon was just as arrogant and uncaring as the urologist who had performed the original surgery. (I had refused to return to the first urologist/surgeon, needless to say.)
The most recent example of medical incompetence by Kaiser was my being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder; however, no one bothered to tell me about it until a year later when I saw an optometrist for new glasses, and he mentioned it to me while reading from my medical record. My overall feeling about Kaiser is that they hire cheaply. Though they tout their vast selection of doctors and centrally located services as a big plus, what this really boils down to is quantity over quality. And that's not anyone's idea of good health care, is it?
Reviewed April 27, 2019
I have had KP for 25 years, my Mother for 10 years, & my daughter for 10 years. It is especially easy to get a referral to a specialist. My Mother had 13 medical conditions & 4 spinal surgeries. KP took over a MRSA infection in her leg. They kept her in the hospital long enough to finally cure it. Previous insurance did not.
Reviewed April 26, 2019
If you are seeking to have people in the medical field who are more trained in being actors/actresses, then their actual skill set and compassion. This is the place for you. Being a patient of Dr. Faith **, has been the worst experience. Her inappropriate treatments, forgetting to order pain medications at an appointment, not responding to emails, and very poor bedside manner. These are Some of the few reasons to make an appointment with anyone else if you need to see a PCP in Pinole, CA.
I was scheduled for an MRI for an MVA injury causing severe neuropathies. I was told to make an appt at a specific location, and then would be able to see a spinal MD. The wait time was over a week and a half for an MRI appt, and then I could contact the MD to schedule my appointment. In summary this leaves me without treatment for over two weeks, with severe neuropathies, pain, muscle spasms, and limited range of motion.
I was advised by a very rude MRI personnel in Oakland to call other MRI locations and see if they had sooner availability. She told me the operator would assist me in obtaining those numbers and transferred my call. The operator answered, was even rider then the MRI personnel, talking poorly about other staff at Kaiser. I was given a number for call at another location, called and was met with even further miscommunication and rudeness. Apparently, the physician has to specify the location for the MRI and it is only good at that location. So even though there were sooner appt it could not be scheduled, without waiting 4 days. The other option is to have the PCP put in a new MRI referral. However, if Dr. ** is your PCP, chances are she will not be reached.
In conclusion, as patients, we are customers (this the corny superficial attempts at impersonating compassion). After interacting with several personnel, I can not say just how appalled I am with my entire Kaiser experience (from the medical mismanagement, poor interpersonal skills, & downright rudeness). I was told to go to an ER so I can “actually be treated,” which is such a waste of ER resources, backing them up further, because outpatient services are so poor. RUN.
Reviewed April 22, 2019
I went in for a check up in January for anxiety. The dr was interrupting me as I was describing my what I was feeling, I had started seeing a wonderful therapist OUTSIDE of Kaiser, and I told him she was really helping helping but I wanted to just set my mind at ease and get my vitals tested so I knew I was still healthy physically. He instead prescribed me a bunch of medication and ONLY HAD MY BLOOD TESTED FOR STDS. Also when I went to the office for my disability forms for work (my panic attacks were so bad my boss told me to take a leave of absence), THE DR HADN'T PUT IN A REPORT ABOUT ANYTHING I WAS EXPERIENCING. It was only listed I was in the office the day I went.
I had asked him multiple times to sign the forms I needed signed for my leave and he refused and said their disability office would have everything after he filled out the report. Then recently I was trying to see if my therapy could be covered by my insurance, I was told over the phone multiple times it was and I'd get a call back with a reference number. They never called, so I had called multiple times to get it and when I finally got on the phone with someone THEY SAID I WASN'T COVERED FOR THERAPY.
Oh and during my drs visit the nurse who called me in originally was supposed to call an older man in but she mixed up the paperwork and entered in all my symptoms and why I was there under the wrong file, and had showed me some of his file. A lot of other little things happened in between (like an advice nurse telling me I could go off the medication I was supposed to be taking with no further info other than I didn't ask for it). No respect for people, absolutely no focus or care on what they are doing. Kaiser sucked in the 90s when I was a kid and my parents warned me about it and holy ** they have not improved at all. I am definitely switching as soon as I can. Kaiser is terrible. Do not trust your health with this terrible business.
Reviewed April 17, 2019
Kaiser is a cheaper and more inclusive all in one program. It's easy to get things done when the doctor can prescribe without an additional approval by an insurance company. It is a bit industrial though. You get lines and huge facilities with massive amounts of people there.
Reviewed April 17, 2019
In the 35+ years that Kaiser has taken care of us has almost always been at a high level, specifically when my wife was treated successfully for ovarian cancer. I believe the people we have dealt with are compassionate and caring for all their patients.
Reviewed April 16, 2019
I love my coverage with Kaiser. Everything is in one place, I don't have to get a referral to see a specialist, I never wait more than 5 minutes from my scheduled appointment time, and the staff is always very friendly and helpful. I also get reminders when I'm due for any preventive care such as flu shots, mammogram, etc. I'd recommend anyone looking for insurance to check out Kaiser Permanente.
Reviewed April 15, 2019
They would rather sell you drugs than cure you, worse than a pusher. Rude and lofty. Expensive and unhelpful. If a Dr is any good, they leave. Most of their drs are only there to collect and paycheck, they do not care for you at all.
Reviewed April 14, 2019
Quality care at a reasonable price. Prescriptions delivered by mail. Appts. made on internet or by phone. Tests results available online. Can contact physician and or specialist online by email with questions or concerns.
Reviewed April 13, 2019
My husband and I have Kaiser insurance through our employers and we are very happy with our plans. I have a facility close by my work if I have a doctor's appointment, need lab work, x-ray, or the pharmacy it's all right there. Kaiser has all health history online and computers in each exam room. My husband had back surgery 3 years ago, and shoulder surgery 1 year ago he had excellent doctors and care both times. Kaiser health plans are the most expensive HMO plans offered by both our companies, however they are so efficient it's worth it.
Reviewed April 13, 2019
This company does not care at all about their members. The provider that I want to see is not "allowed" on the Kaiser Plan because the Kaiser Plan has "been full for years". What a weak excuse. Open the plan up to providers that your members want to see!
Reviewed April 12, 2019
I have been a Kaiser patient for many years, the past few months Kaiser has deteriorated in service. The ER waits are awful, the service is terrible. Referrals after ER visit area hard to follow up on because specialist departments are overbooked. It’s hard to get appointments when you are actually feeling sick. Now it’s flu season the ER needs to be segregated and viral sick patients should be assessed differently to serious or other real emergencies. People are in serious danger from the poor services, not worth the monthly premium, plus the cost of all the extra services when you can actually see a doctor!!
Reviewed April 12, 2019
The locations and facilities are excellent. The staff cares. The cost especially of drugs is reasonable. The website and emails are good. They remind you about preventative care.
Reviewed April 12, 2019
I feel it is a decent value and comfortable for my health and finances. It is expensive for someone living on social security. They respond in a reasonable time. Too many papers, however. I don’t need them to tell me they do not discriminate every week of the year.
Reviewed April 11, 2019
Easy to access care. Go to one place for all needs. Pharmacy and lab are quick and efficient. Wide choice of PCPs. Every dept is always on time. Little wait for care and service. No deductible on medical or prescriptions and prescription fees are much less than I had elsewhere.
Reviewed April 10, 2019
Kaiser has some very worthless docs, by that I mean I honestly don't know how they keep their license, I have been denied treatment for several issues and they also missed a concussion and I had to go to Fairfax ER for diagnosis, they also were not able to treat many of my issues and I am having to go outside of network. Even though they say they cover alternative treatments, I can't find anyone within 100 miles of my house that takes them. As long as you only have the could here and there and are relatively healthy you would think they are good, but if you have more health issues they are terrible.
Reviewed April 10, 2019
It seems like between the deductibles and copays, the cost is really high for the Senior Advantage Plan (Medicare). It does not even provide transportation benefit. But it is the only plan rated 5 stars according to Medicare itself, which supposedly takes cost into account.
Reviewed April 9, 2019
I am on Medicare and need partial dentures for my missing teeth. According to the procedure code D5214, supplied by Kaiser, I have to pay $722.00 but the network dentists I met demanding $1350.00 to $2000.00, When I contacted benefits department they blamed it on Dominion National dental insurance company.
Reviewed April 9, 2019
I love Kaiser, anything I have needed done they have taken care of it. I would not be as comfortable with anyone else. When I had cataracts they took care of it and also got rid of the excess skin above my eye. They did my appendix and my gall stones. When my husband got cancer they did everything possible to save him. His Dr. even sent me a sympathy card. Everything you need is in one location that you need often. Other things like place to pick up a walker could be in a building close by.
Reviewed April 8, 2019
The doctors, nurses and technicians have always treated me with respect and kindness. Prescriptions are filled quickly. Appointments for urgent care are easy to get. Emergency room gets crowded by urgent care patients but the triage teams arrange treatments according to the urgency of the care required.
Reviewed April 7, 2019
Have suffered several misdiagnosis with Kaiser "team". Several medical and medication error. Alter phone, email, and office visits. Push antidepressants for pain rather than spending money to look for health concerns. Pharmacy shorts medication if it is expensive. Radiologist don't know how to read scans. They are horrible.
Reviewed April 7, 2019
Efficient. Practical. Fair priced. Actually more than fair. My yearly premium is now much less than I used to pay. Prescription drugs are a fraction of what I used to pay. Copay for procedures is also a fraction of former charges.
Reviewed April 6, 2019
Currently I have a small co-pay for office visits, meds, and ER. So it’s great for me and my family because my employer pays the premiums. That will change when I turn 65 and Medicare is not impressing me.
Reviewed April 5, 2019
Kaiser is a one stop medical service. It is the most efficient medical plan I have ever had. The online access, ability to have test results quickly and prescriptions ordered through mail and the choice of good doctors within the network are all factors that make it the best!
Reviewed April 4, 2019
Have had several HMO plans. Kaiser has the best doctors, customer service, clinics, techs, policy coverages, pharmacy, and price plan range. Overall just an outstanding HMO with dedicated, highly trained HMO employees.
Reviewed April 3, 2019
This insurance covers preventive care and prescriptions with a copay. You are restricted to using in network services. If you need care outside your covered area, you need to call a number on your ID card for pre-approval unless it is an emergency. An advise nurse can be contacted to help determine what services you need for care that is not an emergency or life threatening.
Reviewed April 3, 2019
I have had some major health issues since I joined Group Health of Washington which was acquired by Kaiser Permanente a few years ago. Kaiser Permanente (KP) continued the great service and care I got from Group Health. I am very happy with the Medicare Advantage plan I have with KP. And the costs have been very reasonable.
Reviewed April 2, 2019
I went to Kaiser Permanent in Sandy Springs, GA, but I suspect fraud! First, the nurse took my blood pressure over my sleeve; never asked me to roll up my sleeve and indicated that my BP was 151/89. I knew it was true! Then, the doctor tried to push hypertension medication on me and blood work! I refused. I went to 3 different local stores to check my BP and the results are as follows: 122/80; 127/80; and 123/80. I cannot wait to change from Kaiser... I do not trust them!
Reviewed April 2, 2019
Kaiser is one stop for lab, pharmacy etc. One can always change physicians. I love this place. They have kept me alive. The best care I ever got was when I had valve replacement surgery at Hollywood Kaiser.
Reviewed April 1, 2019
My Part-D EOBs are supposed to be available for 24 months. I received an email on March 19 saying my Part-D EOB was now available online. But when I went there only the MARCH 2017 EOB is shown. For more than a week I have been emailing them about the missing EOBs and all web support tells me is to clear my cache. Technical level 2 support said they find no problem with their system and how to access my documents, which I already knew how to do. They have made absolutely no effort to even try and get my missing Part-D EOBs showing on the web site.
When I file a complaint with customer service they just see that it's about the website and tell me to complain to them. No support from them either. It has supposedly been turned over to member relations but how they can resolve a technical issue I have no idea. With having had a kidney transplant and being on anti-rejection meds for the rest of my life, which I understand can be quite expensive, I really need to see my Part-D EOB to keep track of how close I'm getting to the Medigap coverage stage where I pay most of the cost of the drugs.
Reviewed March 29, 2019
Oh. Where do I even start. This is my first year with Kaiser, and I can't wait to change for different insurance company as soon as I can (when new cycle starts at work). My foot was hurting a lot, because of slowly developing bunions. I've decided to see my physician. Nice guy, tells me to go and get blood work and XRay done. When we get results all he does just sends me email on their website that nothing can be done at this time. Eventually, surgery will help. That was it. No recommendations on pain killer, no advice on foot care. NOTHING. Just kind of wait for a surgery in a few years. Okay.
I've decided to change the location and my physician. I went to see her to get my annual check up done and get some advice on pregnancy planning. It took me like 15 minutes to convince her to get TSH test done. Long story short, TSH high (which is a threat for your potential pregnancy), and she was like: "Nope, we are not going to treat it." So frustrated... I and my husband are so tired of these not competent doctors that we've started seeing specialist outside of Kaiser and paying out of pocket. Hate Kaiser with all my heart.
Reviewed March 27, 2019
I made 2 appointments for Routine Physical, one for myself and one for my wife. I received a $46 billing. But, my wife receive a $311 billing. During the visit, her Doctor Yasmin, don't even check her ears and knee. Then, at the end of the exam, my wife told the Doctor saying, "Can you check my ears because it feel like clogging." She also fast for the physical. A few days later, we receive a bill for $311 because the doctor treat the visit as office visit. So, everything go to deductible. This is insane. Just because my wife ask the doctor to check her ears? MY wife was not sick. The doctor recommend "Debrox". At Johns Hopkins, if you asking questions outside of the routine physical, they will send a separate bill for $72 as separate consultation bills, but still treat the visit as physical. I enroll KP because The CareFirst plan with $8000 deductible does not qualify for HSA at MD Health Connection. I will fight this bill to the court of law.
Reviewed March 27, 2019
Coverage and payment are exactly as promised. Customer service actually answers the phone and returns calls if I need a more difficult question answered. CS also set up a payment plan that corresponded to my monthly income.
Reviewed March 26, 2019
Doctors that really care. They take the time to listen and diagnose the issue. Making appointments online is a breeze. All records all available online at any time. You can view past appointments and download records from your home.
Reviewed March 19, 2019
This neurosurgeon told him if he has the surgery there is a large percentage that he will never walk again, and if he does nothing the outcome would be the same. He was extremely rude and condescending. We had to have a 2nd opinion and this was done by a Dr Omid **, He was kind and went over the entire procedure. This Dr. was willing to operate, however he urged Devin to seek another opinion and gave us the name of a Dr. in Rhode Island. Dr. **. We met with Dr. ** and we were convinced he had the expertise to operate on Devin with great success.
Dr. ** is out of network, and Kaiser will not cover the surgery. We are doing battle with Kaiser and hope they will find favor and cover the surgery. We have also put a claim into their referral office and hope to hear soon. I tried to contact the Dr. that referred us to Dr. ** and the only thing I got was a phone appt 3 weeks from now. Praying for a miracle.
Reviewed March 18, 2019
This is the worse Insurance company I've ever seen. Rip off, Shady, dishonest on billing, and very bad customer service. Don't go with this company if you don't want to be ripped off all of your money.
Reviewed March 18, 2019
We've been with Kaiser Permanente for 10+ years and have received very good care from our healthcare providers. We have experienced the Emergency Room, hospital stays, outpatient surgeries, pharmacy and other services. All have been a very good experience. We do have an excellent coverage plan.
Reviewed March 17, 2019
I really like Kaiser. When I see a doctor or go to Urgent Care all tests are done in the same building, and results are fast. I also love that Kaiser is very proactive about health. It is easy to get all results via the web. My husband and I have had excellent care at Kaiser. I appreciate that they are not for profit, and more about patients care. The only downside is that they are not located everywhere, so I often have to buy separate insurance when I travel, however, you can always get emergency care within the US.
Reviewed March 16, 2019
I have an on and off face rash that I still don't know the cause of today. The doctor I had before Kaiser said it was contact dermatitis. Now when I went to Kaiser the first few times, they also said it was contact dermatitis and put me on a steroid to reduce inflammation. All this would be in my medical records I assume, so why now, are they changing their minds. I've had this rash enough times to know it's not Mono or Lupus. I had a mono rash (No thanks to them, they put me on antibiotics thinking it was strep) and it covered my entire body in red bumps. My face doesn't look like that now, but they still think it's mono. Or Lupus! It could be anything to them at this point!
Doctor wasn't listening to me when I explained my symptoms, immediately thought it was Lupus because I had "joint pain" when I just explained my face was swollen, no pain anywhere else. The doctors treat me like I'm a moron every time I go there, barely listening to me and more often than not just telling me to "Wait it out". The nurses are a lot more polite and actually listen to you, but for some reason after telling the nurse everything wrong with me, the doctor has to ask me all over again and doesn't have a single clue.
Their Urgent Care facilities take ages for you to finally be seen, and even after that you're alone in a room for hours upon hours. They prescribed me about TEN BOTTLES of antibiotics for the Mono I had. Told me to take 3 Advils for the pain. I have heart palpitations regularly, and that only made it worse. The hospital I went to that WASN'T Kaiser were upset that they would give me antibiotics for Mono. All in all, you're better off somewhere else. Kaiser Permanente is terrible, and you can bet I won't come back here when I can switch insurances. If you're someone who doesn't have any serious health problems and only need routine checkups and vaccines, this is probably best for you. But if you're have anything seriously wrong with you, you're out of luck with this insurance company.
Reviewed March 16, 2019
Kaiser is awesome, once you understand how to make it work for you and not against. Personally, I prefer Panorama City over my local Kaiser. After 20 plus years, I've learned what's best for my personal needs.
Reviewed March 15, 2019
I love Kaiser because the service is good. And, I can get my visit done and then go to the lab or get an X-ray all at once. And if medication is needed, I still don’t have to drive anywhere. And lab results are fast!
Reviewed March 10, 2019
I chose Kaiser Permanente with Medicare's help, when moving to MD. Now, I do understand all the bad reviews! How can such lousy member services get 5 stars with Medicare??? I have been with Kaiser since February 1st and I paid TWO month premium already, yet, they refuse to mail me their medical providers book for my area. I have been paying a premium but I do NOT have a PCP??? I never received a letter from Kaiser giving me a PCP's name and address. I asked for that providers book four times already, but almost one and a half month later they never provided that book. Kaiser: Not every senior has a computer 24/7. Medicare told me I could choose another insurance.
Reviewed March 10, 2019
Kaiser will not help you if you have neck injury and need surgery. I have cervical spinal stenosis from double whiplash and major bone spurs. They will put you through months of PT, and then refer you to physiatry. They said they do not do surgery for this. They make your life miserable and live in pain and they don't care. I have many family members and friends who have had surgery for this problem outside of Kaiser. Kaiser is CHEAP. But if you want to change from a women to a man or vice versa, it will be paid for. Or have an abortion - it's free. Kaiser is Satan. Evaluate your values and morals before choosing this backwards insurance.
Reviewed March 9, 2019
This is perhaps the worse insurance I have experienced and I can’t wait to change during open enrollment. Their service is very limiting and doesn’t care about the people. Instead they treat you like a number and is overwhelming. It takes too long to schedule an appointment, they consistently ask you for your record number as if you are a number and then you sit, wait and pay for nothing. I’m sick of this insurance.
Reviewed March 7, 2019
Across ALL depts, care is superficial. Wrong diagnosis 80-90% of the time, because they employ folks that have a very narrow understanding of the human body, and are not allowed to do needed diagnostics. Even with rare correct dx, they only treat symptoms & NEVER address root causes. Generally doctors are 20-30 years behind in their knowledge base (regardless of their age).
It often takes appointments with 5-6 different people to find the one person in that dept that is competent and does make correct diagnosis. This has been true for minor stuff (dermatological), for ortho stuff (refusing to do the MRI that showed torn tendons), HNS/ENT (surgeon was about to do a repair that would have NOT repaired 3 of the 5 issues), sleep dept (in my case I had a verifiable BREATHING issue with my nose, they will say that you have apnea and anxiety), primary care. For vestibular issues/TBI's - there is NO in-house access to therapy. They will not let you schedule most appts thru the website, but phone centers are understaffed and you can be on hold for a couple of hours to schedule an appointment. Seriously - do NOT use Kaiser unless you have to.
Reviewed March 5, 2019
Went to the Urgent Care department due to extreme bleeding when having a bowel movement. Was humiliated and told that the extreme bleeding was due to hemorrhoids. When I explained that I had these hemorrhoids since giving birth to my first child more than 45 years ago and that they had NEVER bled like that before I was told that a little blood goes a long way. Fast forward, I went in for a colonoscopy; which I had to request due to the fact that my grandfather had died of colon cancer and EVERY member of my family had polyps. I was told by the physician that I would NOT be put to sleep because he said I wouldn't want to die like Michael Jackson. The doctor discovered 4 polyps and proceeded to cut them out. I had been given just enough medicine to render me unable to cry out, but the barbaric removal of these polyps without any medicine was excruciating.
I wanted to scream with the pain. They then had someone come behind me and grab me in a vice-like bear hug squeezing me until it felt like my stomach was touching my back. Finally I was given something to make me sleep very briefly. I was subsequently diagnosed with diverticulosis which is probably the reason for the severe bleeding when I went to the Urgent Care. I was most likely having diverticulitis at the time. If Kaiser cannot SEE something they won't spend the time to look for the answer. Your pain is labeled gastritis or Gerd. Two populations are most likely to suffer from this big government type of health care are seniors and small newborns. I personally know three young women whose infants were born and died at Kaiser. I knew the elderly would be seen as expendable, but I never imagined that they would save money by not doing anything to help newborn babies.
Reviewed March 5, 2019
I inform my Dr ** that I was going to Miami to visit my great granddaughter for two months. I am 85 years old, and had an accident and broke two vertebrae from my back. I went to emergency twice and need follow up, and Kaiser Permanente does not get approve the follow up appointments. I am here without care or medicines already for two weeks. In the emergency room they recommend a cardiologist and a neurosurgeon and Kaiser Permanente and Dr ** just don’t care, I have still a month to come back. They just want me to do everything over the emergency room which is expensive because medicate covered not them even when they advertise in the web page that they will approve follows up for accidents outside the network or the city, it is just a lie. I also think they discriminate me for my age and my race.
Reviewed March 4, 2019
Kaiser is horrible, they will lie to you, they will over prescribe to you, and they only treat symptoms. They ARE NOT interested in finding the problem, only prescribing meds to make you feel better. They over prescribed blood pressure meds to me, I thought my head was going to explode. I am borderline high blood pressure. Can't wait to see where they are slapped with a Class Action lawsuit. I didn't want to give them one star rating, but this program makes you give at least one. I would give a negative star if possible.
Reviewed March 2, 2019
This is the worst health insurance possible. This is the poster child of socialized medicine where you just might die waiting for care. We live In The mountains and Kaiser just closed their only office in Evergreen. You need a prescription? Forget that because if you live in Conifer, Evergreen, or beyond you have no pharmacy unless you drive down the hill. I cut myself and was bleeding profusely and spent an hour trying to find a Kaiser facility to get treatment. Tried calling the member services number and explained how profusely I was bleeding.
After being put on hold, while blood was spurting everywhere, I was told to go to Swedish Medical. The cut was so bad it required a plastic surgeon and an overnight stay in the hospital. I needed to get a prescription filled while being released and again told so sorry but there is no pharmacy can go to. Close to my home so instead of being able to. Go home, I have to drive around and. Try to find a Kaiser pharmacy that is open. Also, they do not have INR machines except in two facilities that are far away so getting INR readings with Kaiser is ancient technology. Kaiser truly is the worst!
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2019
I dunno what this issue is but I am very unhappy with Kaiser!! They are ok to take a premium, but any work is frowned upon. I am so sick of corporate **!! I have an issue with no sleep and troubles not coughing! I called to see if I can get cough syrup with **.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2019
I am a retired professional health care provider (45 years of experience in cardiovascular & pulmonary clinical & hospital technology practice) who has worked in a number of counties (including Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, United States, etc.) during my career. I have personally subscribed to the Kaiser Permanente HMO system for more than 25 years, more recently in the 'Senior Advantage' program. I have also worked for the Kaiser Permanente HMO as a nurse. I began my undergraduate studies (back in the 70s) with the intent of becoming a 'health care administrator'.
My experience with Kaiser, both from within and without, has shown me that Kaiser Permanente is an excellent health insurance option for individuals who are nominally healthy or only moderately afflicted with chronic illnesses. Kaiser generally has very good major medical care coverage (hospitalisation), but it fails somewhat in the routine 'clinical care' category that most of us rely upon for non-severe illness and every-day medical problems (colds, allergies, etc.). Kaiser maintains strict controls over costs (obviously desiring to keep the bottom line financially profitable) and this translates into some noticeable reluctance to authorise potentially costly or more expensive diagnostic studies (or referrals to specialists), unless it has been well-determined and documented that they are both beneficial to the patient and to the organisation's financial bottom line.
Furthermore, Kaiser seems to have what I call a 'Band-Aid & Aspirin' clinical treatment philosophy, in that Kaiser prefers to engage in symptom relief rather than in actual etiological investigation (relief of pain, rather than determination of possibly elusive and complex causative factors), whenever possible. If a Kaiser primary care or family provider refers a patient to a specialist, he/she had better have a very good reason (that can be justified beyond question to professional review boards), otherwise internal financial review committees may be quite judgmental in determining whether or not the expense is warranted).
Although Kaiser makes a big public relations argument that its patients get to 'choose their doctors', this is somewhat misleading in that there is a distinctly limited number of physicians that are 'offered' for a consumer to choose from, at any given time. In many cases, most of these are relatively new doctors (although quite qualified in most cases) with not a lot of actual clinical experience. Kaiser also hires a great many foreign trained physicians (and nurses) who may wish to obtain board-certification in their respective fields by completing a certain term of non-certified employment in order to qualify for board-certification. Typically many lower-ranked Kaiser physicians often spend a few years with the HMO and then seek more lucrative employment elsewhere.
Finally, Kaiser engages in what I term 'over-subscription', which means that it encourage consumers to subscribe to Kaiser HMO clinical services, despite maintaining a very finely gauged parity with actual care provider availability (supply vs. demand). At times, the provision of care available is not quite on par with member demands (which ebbs and flows, understandably).
On the plus side of the equation, Kaiser generally offers excellent surgical and specialist care. If you require surgery, Kaiser maintains very high-quality standards and Kaiser is nationally ranked as a '5-star' institution. The same is true for ancillary clinical services, such as pharmacy, laboratory, nuclear medicine, etc., all of which are very good. Kaiser knows from experience that active promotion of a strong 'preventive medicine' philosophy is beneficial in helping keep its subscribers healthy and costs down (thereby augmenting the financial bottom line), hence a very large and active emphasis on cultivating an effective preventive medicine awareness among its subscribers.
One needs to remember that the Kaiser Permanente HMO in all its vast permutations began during the Second World War, when Henry J. Kaiser began an employee health & welfare campaign to keep his workers (mainly in the shipyards...at that time a critical industry) healthy and happy. From there, his model of care-provision, balanced and modulated by careful financial management, proved to be an excellent example for later HMOs to emulate. It is one of the very oldest and most experienced HMOs operating in the United States of America today.
Bottom line? Choose Kaiser Permanente as your health insurance provider if you wish a very good overall standard of personal health care, but basically healthy individuals and the non-severely afflicted stand to gain the most benefit from a Kaiser subscription. The best way to fully benefit from a Kaiser subscription is to be as well-informed and cognizant with current medical issues and treatment modalities as you possibly can be. In other words, you are your own 'best healthcare advocate'. Kaiser provides a high standard of general care for the masses.
One last note: speaking from a purely personal experience, while in Oregon (I am a member of the Northern California Kaiser Group), I had cause to seek emergency medical care at a South Oregon Coast hospital facility (non-Kaiser), two years ago. 5 days of inpatient observation, plus all the ER and diagnostic costs were fully and completely covered by my 'Senior Advantage' membership, which is a remarkable testament to the overall quality of the Kaiser Permanente Group. Overall, I am personally well satisfied, as a 'medical person', with my membership.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2019
My husband chose the Kaiser PPO plan last year through his employer. All of us, my husband, myself, and our 2 year old had great doctors we were extremely happy with and my husband was led to believe that those doctors would still be covered. Long story short, they lied and we're now forced to get new doctors, which will be for the shortest possible span of time because this company is horrible. Don't believe anything they tell you, and don't sign up unless you want to be locked into only Kaiser providers even if you choose their supposed "PPO" plan. That includes pharmacies by the way. If I could have given zero or negative stars I would have.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2019
I don't think that I made a very smart financial decision when I let Kaiser convince me that their Advantage Plus program was worthwhile. I kinda knew that I had made the wrong decision when I was told by Kaiser personnel that I should call Delta Dental for details about what my dental benefits were. Apparently, the benefits widely vary between each different company's dental package arranged with Delta Dental. When I called Delta Dental they acted like I was on crack and told me that they had NO idea what my benefits were.
A month or two later I went into Kaiser for a hearing consultation... This was a detailed evaluation of my hearing test performed by Kaiser Audiology. I had this test and consultation arranged because I felt like I really needed hearing aids. Oh my God!! I have to admit that the allowance afforded by Kaiser to their members is substantial ($1,000 per ear), BUT Kaiser leads you right down the garden path with the cost of their hearing aids which are astronomical! I found out that I would've come out better financially if I had not spent $1,068 per year on the Advantage Plus program and gone to an independent hearing aid dealer. The brands offered by independents were identical to what Kaiser offered but at a much reduced price than what Kaiser priced their hardware. All of the independents offered the free service clause, free replacement cost in case of loss, rechargeable batteries, and other ancillary items that Kaiser offers.
I suspect that the Vision Services, like the Hearing Services and Dental Services, all of which are included in my Advantage Plus addendum is not any better. I really believe that Kaiser tries to impress their members with the amount they are contributing to the overall cost of the products they sell but let me assure you that you will definitely come out ahead going elsewhere.
And, don't get me started on the medical care I have(n't) received from Kaiser doctors. A number of their specialists are real pieces of work...very arrogant and aloof to their patient's needs. I would hate to see the effects of having major surgery performed at Kaiser. At this point I do not trust anything that Kaiser offers (or says) and will most likely go with a different insurance supplement for my Medicare for the remaining years of my life.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2019
I was supposed to have an ultrasound done on my carotid arteries at the Springfield, VA Kaiser radiology dept. last Thursday, 2/14, but got a call from them just as I was walking out the door and was told it was canceled due to machine failure. They rescheduled for Tue., 2/18, at the Falls Church location where my appointment was for 3:15 p.m. and I ended having to wait 2 HOURS before they did the procedure because one machine was down, one person was out sick, and they were running way behind. I didn't leave there until almost 6:30 p.m. I was told that due to the coming snow on Wed. 2/19 that I probably wouldn't get my results until Thurs. 2/20.
Well, it's now 5:39 p.m. on Thurs and I still have NOT received the results of my test!!! I emailed my PCP at noon today and haven't heard a thing from him or the Falls Church Radiology Dept. My dad died from his carotid arteries being blocked and I'm on pins and needles STILL waiting for the test results. I hope mine aren't clogged like my dad's were because I'll be dead before Kaiser ever contacts me with the results of the test!
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2019
Horrible! I 100% picked the wrong insurance company! Misinformation...referral after referral. One service doesn’t talk to other for updates. No one has a clue about anything outside of their narrow tunnel scope. By far the worst insurance I’ve ever had in my entire life.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2019
I was having trouble breathing. I called to make appt at the urgent clinic. I was put on hold several times. My inhaler was not working. I needed help. They told me to come in at 7 pm. I told them it was an emergency. The stupid nurse asked me if I was feeling difficulty breathing. I said yes. She told me the next appt was at 7pm. It was 9am when I called. I paid out of pocket for urgent care not Kaiser. They did a nebulizer tx with steroids **. It made a big difference. I almost died. I hate Kaiser. I pay all these money every month. They are worthless when you need them.
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2019
Kaiser almost let me die. As an adult I developed severe eosinophilic asthma. I could not breathe, and I talked to my PCP about it. She said it was postnasal drip. After several frightening episodes, and an ER visit (where the ER doctor said I was definitely having an asthma attack), they still insisted that I see a Kaiser Pulmonologist. She had me blow into an ancient spirometer, and determined based on one test that it was all in my head, that I was having panic attacks or bad reflux. A few weeks later I go back to the ER, the doctor wanted to admit me because he was so worried about how sick I was. Kaiser refused to admit me and wanted me to be transported to their facility for “observation”.
The ER doctor fought them, and got the hospital Pulmonologist to talk to Kaiser. I heard him yelling at them saying he would NOT transport me, that I could die on the way, and that he was not going to have that on his conscience. That was the end of December 2016, and fortunately I had already switched to Cigna Open Access for 2017. My husband told the hospital to send the bill, and the ER docs told me they would help me appeal it. One year later, we won the appeal and Kaiser had to pay the hospital for my stay, plus interest. I now have great doctors who have done all the appropriate tests to confirm my diagnosis. It is more expensive, but thankfully I am alive and under the care of knowledgeable doctors who value my health. Please do not use Kaiser!!!
Reviewed Feb. 14, 2019
What does mean ER? ER is a life threatening, But Doctors seem like careless to patient in the ER. They didn't monitor my little one as more often like other hospital did in ER. Drs. and nurses didn't have many experiences. Dr. didn't know the exact diagnosis; he just guessed and administered him a lot of medications to treat one problem. Dr. ordered too much lab tests at once time with a little kid.
Dr. did a procedure was not on time and was delayed to 2 hours and another procedure was delayed 1 hour more. I couldn't not believe in the ER room they delayed some procedure like these. He wasn't concern to the kid. Just added more anesthesia to make my little one to sleep during 2 procedures. Too much anesthesia because of they delayed. They didn't explained exact what's happen to my little one. Also why did they have short staffs in the ER? When they took their break (for dinner time) no one on the floor! When we called code they acted too slow to help. They're favor about their benefits; they didn't treat us like a family. Now I am looking for a new health insurance.
Reviewed Feb. 13, 2019
This is honestly the most unprofessional company I have ever done business with. We have had them for two years due to them basically being the only option we have through healthcare.gov. Many of the medical professionals and the office personnel have been rude and disrespectful. They seem to care much more about your records than they do what’s actually wrong with you. They spend a great deal of time looking at your information and entering information and very little talking to you in an effort to find out what’s wrong. They appear to be in a rush to get you out.
In November I went in extremely sick with coughing and I could not breathe and they were going to send me home with no treatment and I refused and told them my chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. So they sent back to the place I checked in at and the cardiologist found the pneumonia from a chest X-ray. I am still not well 90 days later and I just went back today for the third time and they can make up their mind if they want to do another chest X-ray or CT scan and sent me home and said they would call me later after my blood work came back, which they did when I originally went in back in November. They act like they have no idea what they are doing. I told the Dr today when she was debating what to do, "I’m not the Dr, you are. Please get me some help" but they sent me home with no treatment.
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2019
I have been trying to get the results of my son’s skull X-ray for almost 3 weeks. We have their select plan that allows us to use our own doctor and KP diagnostics and testing. Our pediatrician wrote the order for the X-ray (which by the way took KP 3 weeks to authorize from the time we started trying to make an appointment). But they won’t release the report/scan to her! We had to go back and get the images on a disk. In today’s age of information technology they can’t email images to the requesting doctor? Mind boggling!
We brought the disc home opened to try to save and email to his doctor. There’s no Radiology report! That is why we had to come back to KP because they said we had to wait for radiologist to read the X-ray. We had to send a 2nd authorization! 5 days after this we still can’t access the report. Called yesterday, Left msg, no return call. Called today, spoke to 3, yes 3 people, each saying they were not the correct person/area and they would transfer. Last person said she was sending me to supervisor of Medical records, when she was not.
Reviewed Feb. 11, 2019
The only thing I can say positive about Kaiser Permanente is that they have valet parking at my location. That is it. Every time I go I pay at time of service and every time I am also later billed for the same amount that I have already paid. It takes several phone calls to try to get it resolved and just trying to call to get an appointment is a whole other nightmare. You call and are told that it will be a 45 minute wait that someone will call you back then when they call you back it’s a recording saying that all agents are busy. Please hold. Then for some reason that person is not the one who can really help you. You were put on hold and transferred over and over with not ever getting anyone who can answer your question or assist. This is truly an awful experience.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2019
My handicapped 27 year old son has high blood pressure. All their staff says it needs to be addressed. The doctor(?), increased his HBP medication, he doubled the dosage. My son was acting as if dizzy or confused, he cannot speak. The doctor said to take bake to original dose, we don't need to worry about his high blood pressure until it is 180/100. Then he called me and said his high blood pressure is not a problem until it reaches 180/100. Now "**, (calls me by my first name but expects me to use dr.), when he has his stroke do you want us to use extraordinary methods to keep him alive or will you let him die"? So, the doctor is stating, by email and voice that he is not treating his high blood pressure until it is 180/100, stroke condition, then do "you" want to keep him alive or let him die. I demanded that he treat my special needs son.
Same doctor(?) I, fixed income retired, spent close to $1,000 because I can barely move due to chronic pain since the '90s. His diagnosis and prescription, "stay at home unless you go to the doctor". I went to see my pulmonary Doctor and tried to pay cash. They did not have change. They said they would send the bill to my mailing address. They repeatedly send it by email, and I repeatedly request they mail it to me at my mailing address. So here we are a couple months later and their billing calls me. She wants me to give her personal information so they can mail it, as they have been mailing it to one of my previous addresses.. I ask what the address they have is, she will not tell me because it is private, so I repeat her words to her. I request that she send it the mailing address that they have been sending me mail for thirty-three years. She said she would transfer that address to where she sends it.
So now I am wondering, to what address, and much personal information have they been sending, and how many times have persons or hackers been given my personal information. She won't share my information with me but they have freely spread it out to her knows where. Their kp.org requests every month or two that I check and update the information. As I was a programmer and engineer when I worked, yes I always check and update. Is my credit rating good? I don't know, our home was purchased many years ago, we use cash monies as the price is lower.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2019
I became a patient of Kaiser Cumberland Pkwy/Town Pk. Kennesaw, GA. 3 yrs ago. I have severe blood pressure, diabetes and at the time mild CKD. I was referred to one of their Nephrologist. He did not work with me to lowering my blood pressure. Same experience with Cardiologist. For three weeks my b/p was 110/98,or as high as 213/110. 2 urgent care visits and one ER visits for b/p within 3 weeks time. I went from mild kidney disease to now stage 3 Ckd... Beware of Kaiser. I sure there are some good doctors within network. My experience with the doctors I was afforded, they seemed rushed and not at all thorough. By the way, my diabetes are controlled, and was controlled during these episodes of my blood pressure being high.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2019
Kaiser Permanente is the worst health insurance I have ever dealt with. They sent me a letter that I do not qualify to be enrolled with them this year so I called covered California and enrolled with Sharp. When I contacted covered California they said not to make any payment to Kaiser or call them because I will have to call the new healthcare provider and I did so, just last week I receive a letter from Kaiser that my insurance policy is active and I have to pay them $700 for January and February 2019 payment. I called and explain to them that I have received multiple letter saying that I do not qualify to re-enroll with them because of whatever reasons that doesn’t make any sense to me and I moved ahead and enrolled with a different company.
To make the story short they have no idea of what’s going on and they said I always had insurance with them even though when I called them January 1, 2019 they said I don’t have a choice with them and there’s no balance due at all so out of nowhere they decided to activate my insurance plan and send me a statement to make the story short they have no idea of what’s going on and they said I always had insurance with them even though when I called them January 1, 2019 they said I don’t have a choice with them and there’s no balance due at all so out of nowhere they decided to activate my insurance plan and send me a statement.
Stay away from this Kaiser and save yourself the headache. Even when you try to make an appointment to see a doctor it is very hard and they give you an appointment weeks after your phone call and if you want to see a specialist that will never happen unless you have a really bad disease, they wait until your health is in danger to treat you & and I did have this horrible experience with them in 2007 when I had to do an emergency surgery Because the specialist believe I don’t have to get treated until it got really really bad. Worst health insurance company in US????
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2019
You would think that Psychiatry notes and psychotherapy notes would be confidential. Not at Kaiser. Psychotherapy with a therapist are indeed confidential. But whatever you tell a psychiatrist MD is not. All his notes are on your chart, so that every doctor, nurse, nurse's aid, or other assistants that see you can read those notes. One nurse asked me about something in the psychiatrist's chart - meaning to be nice. I was so shocked I could not reply. Nurses in other departments have also commented on my psychiatric meds.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2019
I loaded a trailer full of firewood and tore muscles and tendons on my right side. PCP opened the door and told me I had tennis elbow, never spoke to him or saw him before. No exam, no nothing! I told him I didn’t have tennis elbow because the pain was on the other side of arm, he just changed the diagnosis to golfer's elbow. I had to follow him out in the hall to ask what to do about the severe pain that doesn’t allow me to walk or drive a car. "Well a tennis strap should take care of that," he says. I was referred by the telephone operator to a elbow surgeon that I knew wasn’t the right referral but I want someone to listen to me.
Thing was I was forced to have elbow X-rays or I wasn’t allowed to speak to him! It was worth it though because he told me to put my elbow on a pillow like I have been doing for three months. Saw another PCP and PT, everyone has a different opinion. No diagnosis, severe pain, no plan of action! By the way the first PCP I insists I have a second pneumonia within six months of the first. Kaiser needs to call every patient she had do that because now they need to get a new dose because you need to wait at least a year for the second dose! Kaiser needs to learn to at least do no harm!
Reviewed Feb. 1, 2019
I went in to have a procedure done to remove 6 CIN3 areas from my cervix in the gynecology office. I was not able to handle the pain and the Dr. was very annoyed with me. She proceeded to tell me that my appointment was a "waste" and that I would have to be put under anesthesia. I apologized and felt extremely embarrassed that I had "wasted" her time according to her. She then told me that the surgery appointment center would give me a call to schedule the procedure. It's been 4 weeks since then and no one has called me. I called the appointment center and the request was never put in by the Dr. I've left two messages for the gynecology department and was told they would get back to me in 24 hrs or less. It's been 4 days and no one has called me. Mind you that I was diagnosed with CIN3 11/01/18 and it is not 2/1/19 and nothing has been done about it.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2019
Takes a month to see a specialist for your problem. I go to a same day appointment to get care right away and get scolded for seeing different doctors and that I should stick with one treating doctor. How can I get care from one treating doctor if an appointment is a month away and I need medication now? I’m looking at other health plans through my work. Take my advice if you will listen, choose a different network.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2019
I am a Kaiser patient in the Atlanta Georgia region. I am also a retired Kaiser nursing supervisor/manager. I have received excellent care from a number of providers in the past 2 1/2 years for a variety of health problems. My primary care provider is the best I’ve ever had. My problem, that is continuing, is access to specialty care. At times it is very good but at times it is unacceptably long. Recently, I needed to see a specialist for a simple followup appointment. The soonest appointment was nearly two months away! On top of that I will then have to wait weeks to a month or more for the treatment I am hoping that doctor will order. Sadly, this experience is all too common. I get my care at Kaiser for very little money because of my retirement status. However, if I had to pay what most people do for a plan even nearly as complete as mine, I would be looking elsewhere for my health care.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2019
At 1am in the morning I had to take my son to ER for severe pain in his belly button area and fever and diarrhea so I took him to the closest ER. We get there and they hook up an IV, do CT scan and the doctor tells us he needs surgery within 12 hours for his appendix. It’s about 3am now and they give him pain meds and fluids. He can’t eat and then I’m told because we have Kaiser he has to be transported to an hour away hospital. Meanwhile my son is in extreme pain.
I told Kaiser I don’t care. Bill it. I have a Kaiser rep very rude trying to threaten me that it won’t be covered and trying to read me a denial statement. Meanwhile I’m still in shock all this is taking place. I’m still adamant I’m staying. Then a Kaiser doctor who knows nothing about my case comes in (while I’ve been told this hospital doesn’t use Kaiser but a Kaiser doctor is there??) tells me we need to go and he is being transported and that he could have hours to days before it ruptures. Other doctor already said within 12 hours mind you.
My son is running a fever. Has started antibiotics and now has to transfer. Then I’m told if we stay surgery would be mid day and if we go can be 10am. So we transfer him which they didn’t send ambulance until 7:30am. So we transfer an hour away get to hospital. Kaiser works with VHC. Get put in a tiny hot room. They do not give him fluids. I have to ask.
Fever peaks back up and we are told surgery not taking place until 11:30 so we wait then they say 2:30. Moves to 3:30 then we wait. No communication so I walk to nurse station. They can’t tell me anything then I go off. My husband calls Kaiser then we get moved to a better room and surgery takes place at about 5:30. My son is so hungry and parched from nothing to drink or food since Friday dinner. We were told by anesthesiologist it ruptured. Doctor says it didn’t. After surgery my son still had high fever. He’s doing much better now but I’m looking for new insurance.
Reviewed Jan. 28, 2019
My son has Cerebral Palsy, developmentally disabled, grand mal seizures, high blood pressure, blind and speaking difficulties. He came up with his own sign language to communicate. The doctor increases his HBP medication, my son, 27 year old acted like he was dizzy. PCP sent letter, no examination and reduced the medication. I inquired why, he said "It is not needed". He calls a couple weeks later and tells me his high blood pressure is not a problem. Then, "When it reaches 180/100 we'll think about treating it. Now, when he has a stroke what do you want us to do? Everything possible or just let him die"? I believe the Hippocratic oath required doctors to "not" play God and to treat people.
Now myself, in chronic pain for more than thirty years. Now groin and testical pain also. CT scan, blood test, blood test, and another blood test with an X-ray because CT scans are always unclear. I have been getting CT scans due to an injury since 1974, they were very clear then and are better now. Retired by disability, out $1,000, and the PCP says, "Stay at home and never leave unless you come to the doctor." No word from PCP in three months.
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2019
In Colorado their care was less than acceptable. Someone misdiagnosed me and it sent my care spiraling downward. They push pills to the point of making me sick and they don't care for thyroid issues beginning with their PCP, and they make my health worse not better. They have violated my HIPAA Privacy Act Rights numerous times, and I have witnessed them violating another person's as well when they called my phone and left another person's name and medical info on my voicemail several times. I doubt the security of their online Electronic Health Record. They wanted my email after I posted this, originally, so I am thinking to myself, you have to be kidding yourself if you think that I am going to give you my email address after the way you treated me, fix your own problem now, I gave you enough info!
I don't think their physical therapist had her license because she was that uneducated, unprofessional and unrealistic - I've had sport injuries and know a quality P.T. and this isn't one of them! I worked at Kaiser in WA State (GHC) and the quality was ten times better, and I was appreciated, respected, and felt that I was important. I would give the WA location 4 stars.
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2019
Thank God I’m old enough to get Medicare in a week. I’m not staying with Kaiser and their low cost Medicare Advantage plan. I’m getting a supplemental plan that will allow me to go anywhere that accepts Medicare. At least that way I can have control over getting a decent doctor. Let’s just say you get what you pay for with Kaiser, and sometimes you don’t even get that! I’m 64, am self employed, and pay $829 a month for my crap Kaiser bronze plan with a $6500 deductible. That’s $10,000 a year for a paid physical and not much else.
My recent experience with a pinched nerve in my neck causing pain to radiate into my shoulder and arm sent me to the doctor. She ordered a shoulder X-ray (normal) and gave me home exercises. In a month I was worse so I asked for physical therapy. She okayed that, but I could only get one appointment a month, not even close to being adequate. I’ve asked for an MRI and that was refused. She said I had to fail all modalities first and then be referred to orthopedics and then they decide if you need one. She offered a cortisone shot but wanted a neck X-ray first. She messaged me that it was normal (which it is not — one done 2 years ago shows bone spurs all through the cervical spine). She never mentioned that she could do or would do the cortisone shot. I keep having to ask, ask, ask and wait, wait, wait.
Meanwhile 6 months have passed and I’m no better because she’s either too busy, doesn’t care, can’t remember me, likes to see me suffer, or all of the above. I made the decision to leave and messaged her this morning asking if she could please help me with a referral to outside physical therapy, which I would pay for, because I wanted to give that a try again and need to get established since I’m leaving Kaiser. She refused and said it has to come from my new outside PCP, but I can’t get an appointment with that doctor until the middle of February. More waiting. My $10,000 a year plan won’t even buy me a piece of paper.
Last straw, so I filed a grievance today at Member Services. Nothing will come of it, but at least it made me feel better. So, my advice: Kaiser has too many patients, too few kind and helpful doctors, and too many darn policies. It’s all about putting their patients (which are just a bunch of ID numbers — not real people) into boxes as they try to feed you into some kind of health care maze they have concocted. Five stars? No way.
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2019
Never, ever, EVER go with Kaiser. I have been fighting about my premium increase for the last four months and have just given up. I received a letter in October 2018 stating a premium increase for 2019. I dutifully paid my January bill when it came. I then received another January bill for a higher premium amount. I called them and they said to ignore it. I received another incorrect bill for February so I called again, and this time they said I owe the higher premium for February AND January. They don't acknowledge the letter I received or the correct bill I paid. They just keep saying the same thing over and over: "I understand ma'am but this is your premium." I can only speak to customer service, never to another department, and CS is terrible.
I am also fighting a $420 charge for an October 2018 blood test my doctor never ordered. Even after confirming with the doctor that the test was done in error, and the results were never received, I have yet to get the charge reversed. It's January 2019. Lastly I was misdiagnosed with a health condition and almost put on dangerous medication— something I learned only when paying out of pocket to get a second opinion from an out-of-network doctor. I am so sad the Group Health was bought by Kaiser. Everything good about them is gone. I look forward to being part of a class action lawsuit against them for their over-billing of insurance premiums.
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2019
Kaiser Permanente raised my premium to almost $500 during the last open enrollment. I qualified for Medicaid in my state so I never agreed to pay this new premium. They sent me a member card so I called and said I didn't need them. They have billed me anyway and kept me on as a member because apparently this discontinuation has to come from the marketplace and nobody told me. As a result my new provider will not pay for anything because I have coverage elsewhere. As a result I have been paying medical expenses out of pocket and Kaiser has insisted that I pay the $500 which is under dispute before they admit that I have officially given up their coverage. Even after paying they claim this will take 7-10 days. For what? That will be a full month without insurance coverage even though I have paid double the premium I ever agreed to. These people are crazy. They don't care about anyone.
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2019
I called the nurse hotline on Thursday morning 1/10/19 to asked if I should get an appointment for my Son. I told them what was happening and they said yes he needs to be seen by a doc today. So I took my very sick 7 month old son in. He had a fever of 104.7, coughing, sneezing, he had vomited a couple of times that day, and also had some diarrhea. Dr. Pivetta gave him a very quick check over and said it's just a common cold virus and sent us home. For the next 3 day my son was really SICK. Still coughing, runny nose, more vomiting, high temperatures and more diarrhea. I did the best to keep him comfortable.
The following Wednesday 1/16/19 my son's lip looked a little blue. So I called the nurse line again to see what they thought. They were very worried about him and pressured me into taking him to the nearest ER asap and even wanted to send out an ambulance. I said no because I felt he was acting normally, not breathing hard or acting short of breath. So I headed to the closest ER. The ER tested him for RSV, Flu and pneumonia. My son tested positive with influenza B. At this point there is nothing we can do since he hasn't had a fever for the last 3 day and is acting pretty normal. He Still has a cough and runny nose but no fever. The big worry here was that his oxygen levels might be low and that's why his lip would have a bluish look.
Well turns out oxygen levels were just fine, he might have just been cold or just had a dip in Oxygen level at the time I called. I am upset because 6 days prior to this when the first sign of the flu appeared (Thurs when I took him to Dr. **) he should have been tested for the flu. I wish Dr. Pivetta would have just done a test when I came to him the week before. Now I get to pay a HUGE ER bill. Great! Not happy with Kaiser's Dr. Pivetta ** at all or with nurse I talked to today that had me go to an ER instead of an urgent care or another doc appt. I will not be calling for advice again and will be looking for a new provider asap.
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2019
My family and I have been with Kaiser for over twenty years. Always thought the service from the doctors and staff was top notch. Referred them to anyone who asked. Well for the past few years the care has declined dramatically. The good doctors have left or retired. Only to be left with younger inexperienced overworked doctors who will eventually leave once they get more experience and fed up with management. But no worry there are new graduates every year. I was told by more than one of my past doctors just before they left or retired that they just couldn't take the paperwork, pressure and restraints put on them and felt they could not give the standard of care they wanted to give.
The mental health department is so understaffed if you are having a mental breakdown they just don't seem to care. You will have to wait a up to a month to see anyone. Kaiser has taken on more patients than they can handle and still want more. I do think once admitted to the hospital the nursing staff still seems caring. Good luck getting properly diagnosed if you don't have a simple cold or flu. You just get sent home and made to come back numerous times until you're carried in. If I sound bitter it's because I am. As I write this I am so distraught about the way my daughter is being treated as she is dealing with a life threatening disease. She is so frightened and depressed. They just don't care. She had to beg to see a specialist and wait for three weeks to see a mental health person so she can learn to cope. I'm researching other plans for the next open enrollment.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2019
On December 5th I went to the emergency room because I developed a lump on my right lower jaw. I had no pain but felt it was very unusual to develop a large lump on my lower jaw. This happened after 9 when Kaiser urgent Care is closed and my only options to see a doctor is an emergency room. After approximately 20 minutes of waiting in the emergency room finally a doctor examine me and determined it was a toothache and sent me home with antibiotics and a mouthwash. 5 days later I get a bill for over $1,200.00. I filed a grievance and my grievance was declined by a Kaiser committee. Now I understand why people don't see a doctor. They are afraid of medical bills that are outrageous for the type of services they received. I don't plan to renew my membership next year as this is the only way I can really show Kaiser their services suck!
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2019
Nothing but terrible service and hostile people. My husband went in after changing insurances, and the doctor mocked him for needing pain meds for a life-long illness, told him to go cold turkey off his meds and offered no other solutions or alternatives. Told the doctor that my husband ends up in the hospital from the pain when he misses doses and the doc laughed in our face and told my 110 lb husband to try exercising.
Last year I broke my foot, made an appt and waited in an nearly empty waiting room for 4 hours, while they said they were busy with other patients. They sent me to another building 3 blocks away for an x-ray, didn't offer me a wheelchair or crutches... Wait another 3 hours while the nurses loudly discuss other patients' medical histories. Go another 3 blocks to another building which the nurse was just turning people away, cussing them out telling them the area was closed. As I walked away a doctor poked his head out the back and waved me in. I made 4 other appointments, each time I sat in the waiting room for 2-4 hours. I would go up and ask when I would be seen next, and they would assure me it would be soon, and confirm my appointment... Hours later they would suddenly say my appointment never existed.
Reviewed Jan. 11, 2019
I added my son to my policy after I initially applied. I spent an hour on the phone giving information. At the end, I was told he would be covered and was given a confirmation number. Fast forward - they have no record of adding him... And have spent the last 52 minutes on hold being moved around. This coverage stinks.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2019
I injured my foot in a fall from a ladder in December, 2016. I went to Kaiser Urgent Care 5 times between then and May of 2017, had several X-Rays, and was finally told I had flat feet and needed arch supports. I had continuing pain and went back in September, when I finally got a doctor who knew what he was doing. He found that I had ripped off the entire band on ligaments across the bottom of my foot and pulled off a 3" long piece of bone, which was clearly visible in the earlier X-Rays that had been taken. He also said that the ligaments had started making their own attachments, so nothing could be done except to put me in a post-surgical boot for a month. Also, the toe (the one that now has a big growth on the top of the joint) apparently had been broken and left to heal on its own.
Fast forward. I started having more significant pain in my left ankle, and went back to Kaiser Urgent Care in December 2018. Two more X-Rays (which no one has bothered to read yet), and a referral for a CT scan and a visit with the doctor I had seen in September of 2017. I just canceled the appointments. I'm not going to waste my time, only to be told to shut up and suffer once again. My foot will either get better or it will completely fail. If it's the latter, Kaiser should have no problem identifying the issue, and hopefully it will be something that will cost them a whole lot more than the proper care earlier would have.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2019
I have been going to Kaiser for over 2 year and getting an injection every quarter. They change the billing to whatever they want and they give you no explanation as to why they charge it. My injection price jumps from 800 to over 5000 within 3 months. Called and asked for explanation and no one can answer and they send your bill asking you to pay it because you are responsible for this bill. I get an injection ONLY and no other tests. But on the statements there are charges for other tests which again give you no explanation as to why I'm being changed except for, "You must pay it." Kaiser Permanente is the worst to be with.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2019
I went to my GP with the hope to finally get a diagnosis for a range of symptoms that have plagued me my whole life. Was referred to rheumatologist. Rheumatologist said he suspected Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Referred to a geneticist (Kaiser's version of one, at least). Genetecist gave me a score on the diagnosis criteria and said "you meet criteria for EDS but I'm not giving you a diagnosis" and also lied blatantly to my face and said there is no genetic testing.
There is testing for all types of EDS except for hypermobile EDS. She refused to look at even Google to prove me right. Told me to exercise more. I have severe fatigue and get exhausted from the smallest things. I can't go to the gym for an hour a day. Thankfully left Kaiser for my husband's insurance through the local university hospital, and am on the path to a diagnosis and actual treatment for my symptoms. When I have my diagnosis I will be pursuing Kaiser for malpractice and suffering.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2019
Was referred to Michael ** for my TMJ. Gave me botox for muscle pain in face but also gave me steroid injections in the joints and told me to wear night guard night and day, however it caused more pain in my joint. Was told shots are beneficial to me, was not happy with him so we complained to Kaiser who referred me to the dept head Dr. ** who is a dentist.
He looked at my MRI and was my disk were pushed out from grinding my teeth for so long and night guards do not stop you from grinding your teeth. Said wearing a anterior reposition splint but would help with pain and heal the joint but I had to go to an outside dentist. Guess what? I tried to get but none of the dentist wanted to make it. I was told they are supposed to be temporary and people have complained of pain. You also have to have it adjusted. $$$. One thing ** did do that ** did not was warn me about the steroid shots and now I believe the condyle is gone and when I emailed him about it I was ignored.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2019
I have a dislocated jaw. Doctors and medical assistants don't know who handles this. After many calls, a referral to a specialist outside of Kaiser was approved. It was never sent because Kaiser staff failed to find the fax number. No notification to me that it was ever sent and after 3 weeks and 7 calls to the hospital and Kaiser Member Services, I find this out. The wait to get through the first Kaiser message on a phone call is 2.04 minutes. The wait to actually talk with a person takes between 8 minutes and 4 hours. Kaiser says they have phone problems.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2019
I tried to reach this company on the phone many times, no success. Eventually, found a correct phone number after many times called, the lady could not answer my questions and hanged up on me. I just started Kaeser Permanente Health Insurance Company last month, tried to ask some questions since I am new, employees are not familiar what they are handling. If they do not know the answer, they just simply hanged up on me couple of times. Really frustrating, and interesting too. I do not trust them. I asked email confirmation after my payment, she said she cannot send email. It is not allowed. I thought that we use email confirmation lot lately. They give different information about what you asked for. Do not trust them.

Reviewed Dec. 31, 2018
I have been a member of Kaiser since November 1. I have yet to be able to access any services. I was told my prescription could be renewed temporarily by their plan presenter and their published literature only to find out because my prescription was from a military base in Okinawa it would not be honored. I tried to get online to choose a doctor and mysteriously I was locked out which requires a verification code that can only be mailed to you. The code came and I still cannot get on. It seems odd especially if you consider I complained about the unsophisticated system and the fact they had mined so much private data as to be obnoxious (you have to remember every real estate transaction you ever made for example). Then I was assigned to a doctor who does not exist at the clinic, then asked to choose another over the telephone and when I made a choice
I was told that doctor was not available and another doctor could see me in two weeks. Add to that all the documentation they required after signing up and paying money to prove part D eligibility and they even lost my husband's paperwork (or as one rep told us, put all the paperwork under my membership and we have different last names). Yet these same people can find that in 1998 you failed to have some test a second-rate doctor prescribed (I had actually gone for a second opinion which I followed) and they tell you you can remove that information and then tell you that you cannot remove it from your record. These are just a few of the examples of total lack of care I have received. DO NOT sign up for Medicare Advantage with Kaiser. They do not deserve anyone's money. They think because we are old we will not notice the shabby treatment. I suggest seniors unite and choose other plans.
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2018
This review is straight and to the point. My CPAP supplies were free until July 2018 when Kaiser sent me a bill. Bill - Mask $135. Hose $25. Filters $8. Covered - Mask $27 Hose $5. Filters $1.60. CPAP Supplies online at cpapsupplyusa... Mask $99. Hose, Filters and Wipes $21.95.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2018
After misdiagnosed by my Kaiser primary MD with a heart issue (he thought). I was referred to a cardio MD, who terrorized me with her ignorance. Told me I had CHF AND WAS SUBJECT to sudden death (later proven false) and put ME thru an ablation procedure at LAMC, which even though aborted cost Medicare $58,000.00. I was then put on **, and even though told by pharmacist I had no business taking this drug, the ARROGANT/IGNORANT cardio MD insisted "Who are you going to listen to, the pharmacist or your MD?" she said. Stayed on it till on stumbling feet. Was rushed to LAMC Urgent Care Unit with ATAXIA. Their drug was stopped but too late. Ended up crippled FOR LIFE, lost thyroid to be on hormone therapy for life, peripheral NERVE damage void of use of hands to write/button shirt, feet to drive steady gait, tremors etc. Both of my MDs were totally IGNORANT of drug prescribed.
Such a crime would be punishable by jail time if done by NON-MDs. Instead Kaiser unabated is now collecting from Victim & Medicare for injuries therapy costs for damage to victim by its own MDs. My complain to CMS send me back to my HMO. "A fox is asked to guard the hens." Where does one go without the $ for a good lawyer. BE AWARE OF MEDICAL INCOMPETENCE.
Reviewed Dec. 26, 2018
Call hold time generally in excess of 2 hours. Waiting on hold is useless, since the Kaiser phone representative typically cannot solve the billing problem. Website is not useful in solving billing problems. Prices have skyrocketed out of control. Difficult to tell how much of the problems at Kaiser are caused by fraud verses. Pure incompetence.
Reviewed Dec. 25, 2018
KP hires the lowest quality (cheapest) staff they can find and it shows. Doctors who don't seem to know what they're talking about, and don't LISTEN to what a patient is telling them - and this has been every doctor I've seen with them. Nurses who treat patients like inmates in a prison rather than people who are paying for health care. Robotic calls that nag you to report for screening tests even after you've had them. People on the "help" line - once you get through a lengthy automated system to reach them - who couldn't care less about your problem and don't "help" at all.
I was told by a nurse that I was rude and needed to "lose the attitude" when I declined to answer a very personal, irrelevant, and inappropriate question during a sick visit. I am an older person, there for an ear infection, and was asked if I'm sexually active. The nurse told me I MUST answer the question, and bullied me over it even though I was clearly in pain and not feeling well and it had nothing whatsoever to do with why I was there. That was the last straw, and I'm DONE with KP. The worst excuse for "health care" I've ever had.
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2018
I went for blood 7 times to figure what I had. I ate something funny overseas and then one day I got really sick. Now to this very day they don't know what's wrong with me. I'm at wits what to do. Thank god I decided to go traditional Chinese medicine route. At least I get some relief from my symptoms. I no longer trust Kaiser. I'll go in for ** and giggles. Get a good doctor at Kaiser is like Russian roulette.
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2018
Do NOT believe the fraudulent commercial of 5 stars on tv. Promise to provide specialty plan for disabled & homebound, do not. Filed bad faith health insurance practices with US Dept of Inspector General, Ref# **, which also included United Healthcare, Physician Housecalls & Aetna for the same fraud. Currently, the Office of Attorney General-Pennsylvania, Public Protection Division-Health Care Section FILE NO: ** is starting an investigation. I have a long road ahead as the 3 insurance companies above + the assigned providers for each will each get their own complaint. I have been refused 15 meds, including ones that control my daily seizures, and any treatment of any kind. The only care I got was when I fell & sprained/broke my ankle, called 911 & went to the hospital. Kaiser even refused to send their in-house ambulance service.
For the record, Medicare.gov/fraud does NOT do anything to the insurance companies, so don't waste your time as I did. Why am I being deducted $135 a month for Medicare? The only attorney I found in the nation who would take on Kaiser Permanente is in California (Google lawsuits against KP, see $28 million suit). He courteously referred me to a local one in Colorado, but that attorney stated, "Yeah yeah, you want to save the world! Get on with your life, forget about KP & start taking care of yourself!" When I locate this attorney's name in my email, I will attempt to add it later. He's in Boulder, Co, supposedly a bad faith insurance lawyer. These details are only a "subtitle" to everything I've dealt with. Hope it helps someone! No matter where you are, I would use the Pennsylvania Attorney General department I mentioned above. The Denver District Attorney's Office said they don't handle it.
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2018
Kaiser employees constantly violate HIPAA Privacy Act. I've had it done to me too many times, & have had them call me & leave other individuals health info. They push pills, & they misdiagnose all the time. When you become healthy you consider throwing back the prescriptions that your provider overprescribes that are hurting us all - you become more happy, not believing in your provider & they will become angry, which isn't about you at all! The employees cause too much drama & more trauma than it's worth! They even have manipulated Police in order to defend their false fantasy bond with our society at large, in order to falsely cause harm to the ones that understand their BS! They are unprofessional. I left. Kaiser will need better object to survive - They have a long way to go.
Reviewed Dec. 12, 2018
I had moved to a new area and was out of network for PacificSource. I chose Kaiser Permanente because I thought how could I go wrong with them. Well, on my first visit they yanked my meds and one is an anticonvulsant which you can't just stop! The appointed GP then ordered a drug test on me and just slipped it in because they took my blood for my thyroid test. I received a bill for $178.00 for the drug test. When I called asking about it, his nurse told me he was very happy with the result. I am a very healthy looking 62 year old who doesn't drink, smoke, or take drugs. I was very annoyed. My second experience was I had kidney stones and had to go to an ER hospital that wasn't a Kaiser hospital. I lived in a very large city with Kaiser clinics everywhere but if you have an emergency you can't see anyone. You are told to go to a Hospital.
My share of the bill was $1300.00. I was there at the hospital for 5 hours vomiting the whole time. I assume if you are insured by Kaiser you are beneath other patients. I then went to the gynecologist and told her about the GP taking my meds away and she wrote me the prescriptions for the whole year. She was a new nurse practitioner and was very kind. I believe the doctors are told to take away everything possible to save the money because Kaiser is an insurance company. To top it off I had a mammogram done and was told to come back in three years instead of one year. When I asked I was told the screening laws had changed. That was the last straw. I knew better. Kaiser causes early death for their patients.
Also, You are not allowed to talk to a doctor and everything is an 800 number. Towards the end of the year I wouldn't even bother making an appointment. What for? They wouldn't have done a thing except lie and try to get away with not treating me. I just surrendered to the fact I had no health care. I am sure lots of patients do the same thing. You just continue to pay the premiums and wait it out. Fortunately, I moved and was able to go back to my real doctor and she couldn't believe that Kaiser didn't want to do another mammogram for three years. Do yourself a favor and never make the mistake I had by choosing Kaiser. I was really pretty scared thinking about what would happen if something went wrong with my health. Thank you.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2018
So I had Kaiser, moved a county over, had to re apply, did got a letter saying I'm covered Dec and 2019. Pre-op on Monday and guess what. No longer covered. They treat medicare advantage customers horribly. Day of surgery after a long day of I was pushed in a filthy room and left. Medicare patients are treated like dirt. While others are put in clean maintained rooms with nurses. And just who is going to take staples out and check surgery site?
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2018
So beyond livid and disappointed. I for the most part have had positive experiences with Kaiser, except for perhaps a few cases of being misdiagnosed/ diagnosing something much later than normal with conditions that should have been easy to spot or figure out - however that is irrelevant as my main complaint is with the actual billing department. I had a CT scan, surgery, and some appointments all scheduled from last spring to this past fall. Before my surgery I had called to set up a payment plan, somehow managed to pay the CT scan fees in all its entirety on time, and then had my surgery and follow ups - and was left with a hefty hospital bill and professional bill afterwards, which I was happy to pay although was not aware of the professional part of the bill until a little later.
I started getting letters saying I was owing money, so I called again and was told I was set for a payment plan on both bills. At that time I had been paying both parts online for what I owed each month as arranged and confirmed to me by phone. Before I knew it I got yet another letter saying my "unpaid bills" were being sent to collections, and that I owed collections $150-some dollars on top of the whopping bills I already had - though it was confirmed to me on at least 3 separate (if not more) occasions that I had a payment plan set up for both hospital and professional bill, I called yet again and this time was told that I in fact did not and that I was indeed in debt.
Now I submitted a grievance but was told that even though this was not my error, I would not be getting a refund for the sudden amount I had paid to collections (as was advised to me on that last phone call) to ensure they wouldn't come after me with any other fees. Thank you Kaiser, for stealing from a patient who has been a Kaiser member most of their life, and already has a hard enough time coming up with the money to pay rent. I won't make the mistake of trusting this corporation ever again.
Reviewed Dec. 6, 2018
I have Kaiser for a year. I only saw my assigned Dr. once after that I couldn't make appt because everything was book. I have to go way out to see a Dr. I'm going back to Health Net. Personally never have a problem with them. Kaiser can go to hell.
Reviewed Dec. 4, 2018
I called Kaiser to see if the urgent care near us was open because that is my mother’s insurance and she is very ill. The terrible woman on the line could not answer if the urgent care was open unless I gave her my mother’s information. After that she said she had to talk to her because she needed to make an appointment to go to urgent care. I got her on the phone and I was translating and explaining things to her. This representative then says she needs to get a translator on the phone for privacy issues (though she could’ve easily asked my mother if she consented I translate...she does understand English it’s just hard to speak). We wait for the translator. This translator could use Spanish classes because he was even getting numbers wrong.
After being HORRIBLY treated by the woman on the phone and having to schedule her urgent care appointment for 1.5hrs later, I asked to speak to her supervisor. She ignored me. I asked her name. She ignored me. I asked again. Ignored. I asked the translator for her name. He ignored me too. They hung up the phone while we were still there. Terrible!!! For someone ill!!! I can’t believe them. I called to file a complaint and they’re making me jump through hoops saying they have to mail a form for me to fill. In short, run from this hell. It’s not worth it.
Reviewed Dec. 3, 2018
To start with, I have had both good and bad experiences with Kaiser. Over the 5 years I've been on Kaiser, I've been on 3 different plans. Two very different employee plans, and now Medicare for over a year. I've had both good and bad doctors. Good and bad PAs and nurses. The things I like best about Kaiser are: 1. Easy - I live maybe 5 minutes from the facility that has urgent care, my primary doctor, and my eye doctor. The website, when it's working, is great for downloading most lab tests. And, most of my doctors are quick to respond to email. 2. I love my primary care doctor, and most of my specialists, but it took 4 of my 5 years with Kaiser to finally get doctors I think know what they are doing. 3. The formulary for drugs covers 2 of my 3 regular meds at affordable pricing.
The things I've struggled with at Kaiser: 1. Lack of choice of hospitals and urgent care. The one hospital they approve on my side of town has a bad reputation, and I've known two people who either almost died there or got a staph infection, within a short time of each other last year. If I travel outside my immediate home area, north or south of Denver, the choices are thin to none. There is no urgent care in Boulder County, for example. 2. If I travel outside the Front Range of Colorado or out of state, I am only covered in an emergency, and only if they consider it so.
3. I have occasionally had issues with care. One example was with a chronically bloody nose. I was treated by a PA who was a one trick pony. She only wanted to cauterize. That didn't work, in fact, made it worse, but that's all she had in her knowledge base, and she refused to let me see a doctor. When I broke my hand in a car accident, it was handled quickly and well. However, when, the same year, I broke my ankle, I had to fight tooth and nail and wait for long periods to actually see a doctor. Both of these were in the downtown Denver facility.
4. When I was working, there was practically a staff uprising about Kaiser to the point where our CEO convened a meeting for Kaiser to hear the staff complaints. The people they sent knew nothing. They were completely useless and had no solutions. They finally set us up with a special "hotline," but it only worked to solve issues rarely. 5. They have no doctors that have any kind of holistic learning. They are by the book, and sometimes not even that. My current doctor is great because he listens and is fine with the alternative treatments that I get in addition to their care. He's the first one I've gone to there who is like this. He also wants to be sure I am clear on what is being treated and how before I leave. And, since several of my doctors have either retired or quit, I don't trust that I'd find another if he leaves.
I know this is a long review, and mixed. I also know that treatment outside Kaiser can also be spotty or bad. I just want the ability to have more choice. I guess I'll put up with more inconvenience and lack of unity of care when I go elsewhere next year. I keep my own health records anyway, so I should be fine. Especially since 90% of the time, Kaiser people don't even check history other than drug allergies. Their computer system must be difficult to navigate, because I don't think the problem in that case is the doctors.
I think they want to know, but it's easier to ask the patient than to wade through their system. I've asked them to look for specific records, and they can't find them, though I know they're in there... Whatever insurance/plan you choose, you need to weigh your options. With Kaiser as with other companies, be prepared to have to advocate for yourself and if you don't like the answers you get, contest them. These days, you have to be persistent to get what you need in healthcare. Sad, but true.
Reviewed Nov. 30, 2018
I had San Francisco Kaiser 40+ years ago and had always been healthy. After giving a normal birth in the early 1980s, I dropped Kaiser due to very poor service and aging inadequate facility. They brought me the wrong baby to breastfeed! I've returned to Kaiser for over 5 years now, after a good experience working with a wonderful Kaiser doctor for my in-law.
Kaiser has gone thru a major overhaul, new buildings (beautiful Mission Bay campus but on the other side of city for me)/remodel, procedural changes (I'm sure partly gov't mandated) and also invested heavily in their IT systems. Hopefully they've eliminated the horrible doctors who refused to care for patients and didn't address their complaints (or at least try to). Staff are attentive to patients and no longer ignoring patients, especially at the front desks. Two thumbs up on their online patient portal.
For myself, I found the right, caring doctor(s). I've used their 24x7 Advice Nurse line and found them to be caring and responsive. Even short notice appoints with my non-attending physician (Geary Blvd OP), hit the DX right on the nose, verified with RX-ray same FRI afternoon, and waited for me afterwards to see the results after 6 pm, so she could order the prescription and not wait over the weekend. Now that is service! Another short notice appointment with an optical specialist after I idiotically poked my eye bending over an orchid plant late night, was also efficient. Not much bedside manners, but I was so concerned as the eye was bleeding initially. The graveyard adviser nurse even consulted a doctor and tried to get me a followup morning visit rather than ER visit, as good to ensure I did not damage my vision.
The option for video appointments with my primary doctor is great and they finally fixed the sporadic bug in their pharmacy refill system. I had retired from IT in a county hospital so I feel I have a basis for comparison. I am very very happy with SF Kaiser (Northern California). I had been dual-insured with HealthNet for many years and it was also good, depending on the doctor you get, but like the one stop Kaiser health service as I normally research the background of the specialists anyways. I also appreciate reading the issues other patients on this website. It's always good to hear both sides and to be aware, which is why I am writing this. Finding the right doctor to fit you and your personality/demeanor is key. Also remembering medical staff are not perfect.
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2018
I contracted contact dermatitis from an unknown source recently. Because it was limited to isolated small areas I used calamine lotion and took ** according to the dosing schedule. I apparently underestimated the persistence of the exposure and it spread and quickly became problematic. I went to the “urgent” care and was really put off by the attitude of every employee I encountered. The PA seemed to be bored with my description of symptoms, and advised me to change laundry detergents, and prescribed anti-itch meds and ointment for use up four times a day, with follow up in two weeks. I followed the directions and realized the ointment would not last through the day! Since the pharmacy was closed I used the directions I found online and took oatmeal baths and Vaseline to cover the affected areas.
After a horrible night, I called the pharmacy and was informed I couldn’t refill the ointment because not enough time had passed since the original prescription. At eight AM I contacted the my doctor's office and was told, "We might be able to return your call, sometime this afternoon." I am still waiting for the call. My symptoms have not abated, I have no means to seek treatment elsewhere. I am astounded by the lack of empathy, the poor treatment plan and unprofessional attitude of the staff and physicians at Kaiser Permanente, I urge anyone reading this review to carefully consider another health care provider before settling on this rude, robotic and uncaring conglomerate.
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2018
Thereʻs nice staff but Many are extremely sarcastic, rude, condescending, sassy, passive-aggressive, & apathetic/robotic. I even seen it with a few children and elders & they usually seem to be very unhappy, or angry to be working. At one point a staff member gave a semi-threatening tone to me to dare file a complaint against her after I asked for her name. I understand the frustration of having a bad day or dealing with rude people for years but when it comes to patients I have more sympathy because of the pain or medical problems they are going through.
My family and myself always wait for a while but with many physicians we are treated in a very short time, for example 15 mins after waiting for over an hour or 2. Being a member for 10 years I know that Kaiser use to be good and efficient before but over the years the quality and the staff/nurses are changing and some staff donʻt seem to be well trained enough so we will be changing insurances soon.
Reviewed Nov. 26, 2018
I'm switching away from Kaiser for a few reasons - I have high expectations: 1. my doctor wasn't up for discussing the scientific literature for my chronic illness. 2. doctor told me to keep taking a drug that made me sick. 3. closed network, so can't go find the best specialist in the world. 4. medical records are all in PDF and I want machine-readable. 5. Kaiser delayed my seeing a specialist for a month; luckily, my situation wasn't in the most dire but it still sucked.
Overall, Kaiser could improve their IT systems but their people seemed to care and I did seem to get a decent and affordable medical workup. I'll be switching to United Healthcare and hopefully that doesn't suck as much as everyone says it does... Reason of review: Bad quality. Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution. I liked: Price. I didn't like: Website, Lack of specialist options.
Reviewed Nov. 24, 2018
My co-pay should be $55 which I paid before ultrasound. Later on I received a bill of $1100, the original cost was $2600, from which insurance paid $1500. The ultrasound was not even made by a doctor, but by a radiologist who only knew how to make bunch of pictures without being able interpreted them. I don't understand why in USA we have such enormous prices for such services. In Costa Rica this exact procedure is done by a real doctor who knows what he is doing without very long waiting time (I waited almost an hour) for $25-$35. These $1100 would nicely cover all my expenses for a ticket of a whole 1 month stay at Airbnb private house by a beach in a tropical forest including delicious organic fruits and veggies (self cooked at my private villa). I really want to stay away from all this insurances now.
Reviewed Nov. 22, 2018
I have come to dread making appointments to see Kaiser doctors. The nurses are always robotic; they don't make much eye contact and just type away the responses to their questions. My doctors haven't been much better. They ask for a very brief description of my history with my medical concern before prescribing medication and launching into surface level quick-fixes (that aren't fixes) and they always push hormonal birth control-- even when I have told them it's been pushed on me and I'm not interested. One young doctor who couldn't seem to monitor her facial/body responses was sarcastic, condescending and rude, as I tried to describe my years with unresolved, unaddressed, undiagnosed pelvic pain.
When I asked her to step out so I could get dressed (because I was irritated and didn't want to be half-naked and vulnerable while continuing that conversation), she refused to see me and complete our visit. When I asked to see a supervisor, the nurse insisted on standing there like a bodyguard, arms crossed and fuming, while I explained my frustration to the supervisor (who was nice but could do nothing beyond kindly apologize and refund me my Co-pay... Which later became an issue with billing but that's another story).
I had to go back and see a different doctor. A very nice nurse called me in response to a complaint I left regarding that visit and she made me a new appointment. The next doctor was slightly better but still a bit of a power-trip and not very warm, did most of the talking (encouraged birth control). When I asked for hormone testing she approved it but made it known that she is the one with the authority to order testing.
Still don't have answers, still dread walking into Kaiser. Member Services reps and Billing reps have been nice and willing to give me their time and try to answer my questions. My only frustration with these services is that I get conflicting answers. I asked basic questions like how my benefits cover pregnancy and labor/delivery costs and I get mixed answers. I was on the phone with them the other day for over an hour to get an estimate for an endometriosis treatment and she couldn't find the answer to how much I should expect to pay out-of-pocket. Very frustrating.
Reviewed Nov. 16, 2018
Kaiser Permanente has the worst customer service, doctors don't listen to their patients and their website is useless!!! I came in to see my general doctor and ask her to give me a referral to a dermatologist about these spots on my back, she told me it is not needed because it was only a rash and all I need to put on it is calamine lotion. I told her it was not that because I had this when I was younger but she still didn't give me the referral. Very awful experience.
Second, I had upgraded my plan and put in my card for automatic payment due to travel reason and can't get to mail sometime. There was a hiccup when they tried to charge the card (even though I had money in the bank) so instead of trying to charge the card again, they put a hold on the card and sent me "one" letter to my residence. After a couple of months, I check the website and I accumulated over a thousand dollars in monthly payment. I checked the website on what happen to my automatic payment and it said that my card was "active".
And here is the third strike, I called their call center and talked to them about my situation, they told me about my card being on hold and they sent "one" letter around February. I told them, I travel and I didn't look at letter because I thought it might be a bill for $0. I asked them why they didn't contact me through phone, email, or even through their website which has an inbox. I asked for a supervisor, not around so I told the operator to have him/her to call me or email me. No response. A week later they sent me an "email" (which I responded right away and this wouldn't have happen if they made the effort to use all means of communication with me) to say they had cancel my membership due to non-payment. I could go on about what was the outcome which resulted in still being bad. So once open enrollment comes, I will be going to their competitors.
Reviewed Nov. 15, 2018
What's happened to me at Kaiser, letter to my doctor... "I don’t really appreciate your subtle condescending slightly sarcastic attitude when you write me in emails. Doesn’t matter how many tests I have had done. If you were doing your job correctly and thoroughly I would not have to request tests done myself that should come from you being that you are my primary physician who is responsible for my health. It’s good I had the tests done as they showed some problems that were not known about before, but in reality I guess it really doesn’t matter what they found in the tests. Nothing seems to get addressed.
other doctors about before? No! And since my edema has not been monitored and addressed properly for many years now the skin on my feet is compromised
and now has a skin condition that bleeds sometimes which might get infected causing me to maybe lose my feet possibly.
"Have you done anything for the painful varicocele vein in testicle area which probably needed surgery? Just take pain pills for that which did nothing. Anything done for chronic vein insufficiency and circulation? No! Anything done for chronic constipation that is worse now than ever? Just take Benefiber and drink water! Anything for the painful bulge in left side abdomen? No! Conflicting reports on this bulge, one doctor says it’s my colon, one says the bulge is in my abdomen, and you one time said it’s a hernia and the ER doctor said it is due to infected diverticulitis. Either way not much is done about this except guesses that it may be this or that. Just take some antibiotics for 10 days which did nothing at all.
"I had many primary physicians since 2007, only maybe 2 of them were any good that seemed to care about me. Their names were Dr ** and Dr **. Both ended up leaving Kaiser and quite frankly I cannot blame them at all. I am actually sorry that I stayed with Kaiser for my healthcare but for like 7 years I was busy taking care of my parents who eventually died from Alzheimer’s. I should have switched to Blue Shield or Blue Cross. I probably would not be in the shape I am right now. But It is too late for me now to switch as the damage has already been done.
"You made a comment before that it seems I don’t have much faith in the Kaiser system. That is a correct statement from you. How can anyone have faith in ahealthcare systems that does little to help you or neglects a person’s health issues and ends up making the person feel sicker because certain health issues just keep getting ignored or just swept under the table? To be honest, it’s at the point now that I am thinking, “Well what’s the use to go to Kaiser at all.” They don’t do much of anything and I will just come back home feeling bad and no improvement. The 2 things that are bothering me the most are my feet and my abdomen and this bulge and the fact that I can hardly digest food and take normal bowel movements. To me these things are serious. I can hardly sleep due to the discomfort of this bulge and not sleeping is also bad for my health.
"It does not matter if I keep you as my doctor or get another new doctor. I don’t think that any doctor at Kaiser will help me or my issues. As you said before many things are old age related and that’s seems to me an excuse not to do hardly anything to help the patient when they get past a certain age. It does not matter if a patient is 20 years old or 80 years old, it’s the doctor's job to help them with health problems after all that’s why we pay you. Did you take the Hippocratic Oath when you first became a doctor because it seems that today many do not follow that oath are more concerned with money and making money from pharmaceutical stocks than the patient's well being and showing them heartfelt compassion. You said yourself to me, "Why would I tell someone to take herbal medicines. There is no profit in that!" I can say this because of the way I have been treated by some Kaiser doctors and Kaiser nurses.
"People that come to Kaiser are sick and looking for help. They should never have to experience non-caring, rude or condescending attitudes. And I haveexperienced all of this before a few times now. But I have come to a point now in my life that I will not accept bad treatment or abuse from anyone especially not from my healthcare providers who are supposed to take care of me and improve my health and treat me with compassion. Anymore I report any doctor or nurse that tries to do that to me. So you can quit as my doctor or not. Or I can find another doctor but like I said before I do not think anyone is going to help me and my health will just keep declining as it is right now. As a patient I have the right to be treated fairly with compassion and I also have the right to voice my opinion which I just did like it or not.
"The times that I went to the ER or the walk-in clinic was either on the weekends or late at night when I had those problems. And many times I tried to make appointments to see you but they told me that you were out of the office and that happened to me often. You are all getting paid from what you charge the patients yearly and with co-pays. Why are patients not receiving the care they deserve from Kaiser? Giving someone a band-aids, ointments and a bunch of pills is not correcting their health issues! The reason my health is declining is because I have been neglected many times by various doctors and this is shameful at best! Oh and I can also add that on my health record there are things on there that are not correct like the dates and such.
"For instance they have the wrong date for my edema. They have 2017 listed, they were made aware of my edema back in 2007 but someone has the wrongdate. Low back pain has been since 2007 not 2016. Testicular pain has been since 2016. Low potassium levels has been since at least 2010. Nonsmoker since 2002 and I told them this in 2007 not 2010. So whoever put the dates in on my records needs to correct what is wrong! And who is the one that has to pay the price for this neglected treatment I have been receiving? The answer to that question is me! Day after day month and month sitting at home in pain and discomfort wondering what’s going to happen next or how long can I last in this condition. The quality of my health is not good and it’s not my fault!
"I will not apologize for this letter at all. I have a right to express my feelings concerning my health and what has happened to me or not happened for me at Kaiser! Kaiser's motto is "Live well and thrive". I really think Kaiser should change that motto as it is not true! Most of my poor treatment all has happened at Kaiser Panorama City in the ER and with different specialty doctors and primary physicians and ER nurses. It’s very odd, the last time just recently I decided to go out to Woodland Hills ER and all the nurses and the doctor treated me with great respect and compassion. Panorama City could stand to take some bedside manners lessons from Woodland Hills. They could learn a lot!!!
"Shame on Kaiser and Kaiser doctors who year after year take money from patients and do little or nothing for the patient's health issues putting them through hell, risking their lives while in the meantime people are suffering daily in pain and discomfort. It use to be that employees earned their pay by doing a good job, taking care of business the way they are supposed to be doing but to be very honest I don’t see this being done much at Kaiser Panorama City. I am a prime example of that. Because I stayed at Kaiser all these years now my health has declined so much that I doubt it's going to come back and the quality of my life is at its lowest point now ever in my life. It is shameful at best.
"I paid you people all year after year to take care of me but am sorry to tell you that this did not happen. The way I feel now is the direct result of lack of compassion and caring. I am not saying that all Kaiser locations are bad but my experience with Kaiser Panorama City many times has not been the best at all for years now."
Now it has been about 2 or 3 weeks since I sent my doctor this letter and also forwarded a copy to Membership Services. Membership services called me back, left a message they were looking into it. Then I got no response at all from my doctor after 2 weeks. Some nurse in his office sends me an email saying, "We are assigning you another doctor. Name's Dr **." I don’t even know this guy or request this. If I want another doctor I can choose one on my own. And not even an apology from my doctor at all (now ex doctor). See what I mean about the way Kaiser treats its patients? And I been loyal to Kaiser since 2007 and this is how they treat me. This is shameful at best!!! I hope my story helps someone make a decision. Thanks.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2018
The worst of all health care insurance I had. I was rushed to the ER in Nevada for emergency care. I was vomiting, having nausea, headache, stiff neck. The bill was around $21,000 but Kaiser only paid $14,000. I work with the government and I know I am covered in full. Until now Kaiser has not paid the bill. I am put in a collection agency now. Last September, I spoke with Kaiser Case Manager based in Oakland (name is Britney) and she told me Kaiser will pay them. I just need to send her all the bills, etc. I did faxed the billing statement and the documents she asked. To my disappointment, I receive a letter from a collection agency about this bill.
Kaiser has not yet paid and I am screwed because it is in the collection now and sooner will mess up my financial records. How can Kaiser do this? How could a case manager reassure me they will pay for it but never do it? And now I am calling them but no answer. Kaiser does not help you with your health issues, they give you health problems including making you sick worried about things they should handle better. I hope one day Kaiser shuts down.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2018
I was obligated to switch to Kaiser through my current job from having state health insurance. I thought it would be great since I am actually paying monthly and get better care. I got pregnant and not once was I told congratulations or acknowledged. I was treated like I was just another person they had to care for. Luckily my pregnancy itself is easy, no complications, but the whole entire staff at the Tacoma hospital made me stress out my mind, each visit I had a new midwife, them always asking what is my visit for (pregnancy). Duh. I had alerts on every test that came back saying I had cancer, my baby has a cyst in her brain, but let's run more tests to be sure when it turned out to be completely nothing, but I had to wait a week or 2 to speak to an actual Dr. about anything. Not to mention each test ran was a couple hundred dollars. I'm starting to think they're just out to do whatever just to collect money.
It's been a complete nightmare but I am glad to say I won't be delivering my daughter with this insurance, luckily my husband is able to add me to his (we just got married right before the first enrollment of his insurance ended). I would never recommend Kaiser to anyone. My son has it as well and they told me he had a heart murmur (after being perfectly fine for 4 years with state insurance). Made us do an echocardiogram and turned out, it went away! Once again, wanting to do unnecessary things to scare me and more money out of pocket. If it's not considered a big deal, why make it sound like it in the first place? I had a colposcopy done, while pregnant, each phone call I made I had asked "how will this affect my pregnancy?" And every one I spoke to said "wait, you're pregnant" even right before the procedure. It's a hell of a insurance, the whole medical staff is not sympathetic or caring and act like workers at McDonald's. Get in, get out.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2018
In researching the Kaiser Bronze HSA insurance plan, I followed the phone number (available Monday through Friday, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.) listed under "Experienced Support" in the Kaiser Health Savings Account info page, first to a representative that was not able to help me with insurance questions (so clearly the wrong phone number, for starters). That representative then directed me to a support agent in the Billing department. This representative seemed confident he could answer my questions. He had never before read the aforementioned HSA info page, and had no knowledge of the fees listed on that page. When asked other questions regarding the plan, I was met multiple times with "I'm not sure the answer to that" and similar responses.
Eventually, after 14 minutes of inadequate and unconfident answers, the representative says "we have another department that would have the answers to these questions". So I asked to be transferred to a representative in that department. The representative says "of course, let me transfer you over to that department." I'm then met with an automated message, saying the office is now closed, and the call hangs up on me. I see that it is now 5:02 pm, and suspect this specific office closes at 5:00pm.
Essentially, had the phone number on the info page directed me to the right department, I might have had the chance to reach someone able to answer my questions. Even still, if either other two representatives had transferred me to the right department in a timely manner, instead of wasting my time attempting to give incomplete and unsure answers (in the case of the 2nd representative), I might have had the chance to reach someone able to answer my questions. Worse still, is the fact that the representative confidently transferred me to a closed department that would hang up the phone on me, either intentionally or out of sheer cluelessness. The complete lack of professionalism and organization leads me to believe being a customer of Kaiser insurance would be an incredibly unclear and difficult to navigate experience, with inadequate support and reassurance.
Reviewed Nov. 7, 2018
11-3-2018 Called 911 to KP LaCienega ER. Three-ring circus. MD, nurse, social worker. All three apathetic, stupid, rude, insulting etc. 911 didn't bring my walker. I need it to walk. Nurse offered NO assistance. Lend cane or Walker to get home!!! Refused to call in prescription. Refused to give names, and hid badges! I had seizure, concussion, fall injuries, bladder infection affecting my kidneys (have kidney, liver disease). Four days try get script. MD CANCELLED because I complained. Hallelujah for the pharmacist(s)...the low level workers who are caring, concerned. Even security woman in front who helped. I won't forget. I WILL NEVER COME BACK. Thirty three years member. Canceling membership!
Reviewed Nov. 7, 2018
We purchased a small business policy from Kaiser. We have had nothing but terrible experiences. Our employees were taking more days off just to get a simple doctor visit or procedure taken care of. I had to go to the hospital. Even though there is a written protocol for treating a pre-existing condition in my health record, KP doctors could not be bothered to read and follow it. They nearly killed me. They did cripple me. Their legal dept. is so large they will crush anyone that attempts to sue them. You just can't sue them because they will make it too expensive legally to pursue arbitration. On that note, do you have $75,000 in your bank account to pay for the experts to assist your arbitration? No? Then DO NOT TAKE OUT KAISER PERMANENTE INSURANCE. THEY WILL KILL YOU.
Kaiser Permanente has the biggest collection of burned-out, drug-addicted, and just plain incompetent doctors anywhere in the world. Any Third-world medical system is better than anything Kaiser has to offer. Try an 8-month wait for a simple colonoscopy. How about KP's policy of NOT TREATING PRECANCEROUS CONDITIONS UNTIL THEY ARE FULL-ON CANCER. Simple things take forever. You will be treated like cattle. Try 45-minutes just to get signed in to see a doctor that has less than 10 minutes to see you before he has to move onto the next patient. Truly third-world medicine is much, much better than Kaiser Permanente.
Think about it: Every doctor at KP is over-worked and very much underpaid. They attract the worst of the worst physicians. They attract physicians that cannot make it as a doctor in a standard medical practice. You will run into incompetence at every department you go into. YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTELY FOOLISH IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING OUT KAISER PERMANENTE INSURANCE. Don't do it. You will be sorry!!! Contact me directly. I will give you more information about the horrible medical practices that go on at KP. I will tell you exactly what they have done to me and my family.
Reviewed Nov. 6, 2018
I have been a member for many years and had even asked prior employers to offer it so I could stay with them. HOWEVER they have really grown and do not care about patients in general. My doctor died and they assigned me to someone - it has been impossible to change. I am paying for non-existing care. I have had nausea and vomiting for over a month. They misdiagnosed vertigo. Then I was told, "No. That isn’t what this is." What is it? No idea and the doctor I am assigned to is on a 2-week vacation. Good luck getting help. I am taking anti-nausea pills around the clock. They won’t give me the patch again. I have never had anything like this. It is like a horrible nightmare. I am just trying to work every day since I am self-supporting. I don’t know how long I will last this way. It is wearing me down physically but most importantly psychologically.
Reviewed Nov. 2, 2018
We've had Kaiser Permanente insurance for 3 years. Our son was born last year, but other than that we are relatively healthy. We've had a very positive experience with KP during that time. We love our doctors and pediatrician. It's extremely convenient to talk to an on-call nurse, and we can almost always get same-day appointments in urgent care when we have a problem. The system is very convenient -- everything under one roof. You can get referrals and see a specialist on the same visit! (And pick up your medicine in the pharmacy.) And we can e-mail our pediatrician anytime and get responses in under 24 hours; great for unexplained rashes or fevers. We loved pre-natal classes as well. My only complaints are -- expensive (but everything is expensive), and the website is a little clunky and can be tricky to figure out. (But the website is also great because it has all your records stored there.)
Reviewed Oct. 29, 2018
I have been trying to get the correct plan information for Medicare Senior Advantage new sign up. I have had to request a mail packet five times. It has taken 20 days to receive. I was finally sent only the 2018 packet when it came and will only have this plan for two months - a prudent mailing would have included 2019 plan also. I then signed up for a plan by mistake that doesn't include part D but it should not have been offered for my county but Kaiser has an error with my zip code relative to county and actual location. When I called to change from the mistake plan I did so by phone - the representative had to read ABSOLUTELY every word on every page and was unable to transfer information once provided as each line item was being recorded... over an hour on the phone. I provided my email and have not received any confirmation since the call two days ago.
The contact numbers are also frustrating as the ** number if you are not a member sends you to 888-901-4600. When they answer they send you back to **. My phone representative mentioned above who asked for my email and name multiple times (as she could not transfer due to recording) gave me her number **. I just called it today and could not get the phone tree to connect to her. First it hung up on me and the second time I was told I had the California office and had to contact the Washington office at 206-901-4636 - they are closed. I just want to get signed up for the Harbor Plan and I want to know it is in the "works". I don't want to spend more days and hours on the phone and waiting for mail that never comes. I have to hope that this process will not be an indicator of how Premera will provide my medical care.
Reviewed Oct. 25, 2018
I’ve been trying to have my daughter’s medical claims paid by Kaiser for over 4 months now. It’s a long story but I have a unique situation. I called member services as soon as I received her nursery charges from the hospital and was told for 2 months by multiple reps/managers that her charges weren’t covered. I literally read them verbatim from the 2018 summary of benefits from OPM’s website (it's a federal health care plan) that all routine nursery charges are covered. I was finally told by someone to submit an appeal (never was mentioned this before) and was contacted by the appeals department in Rockville that her charges are covered, she needed to pre-enroll my daughter, and would request the claims be submitted to Kaiser from the hospital.
I follow up a month later since my POC at the appeals department said it could take a few weeks for processing, only to learn they were never received from the hospital! This lady never followed up with GBMC when she didn't receive them, and didn't even request ALL of the claims to be submitted to them (hospital/physician). These people are rude, have no care for their customers, never respond to emails, and are a complete nightmare to work with. Incompetent is the only way I know how to describe the people they hire... And I am still fighting this with them.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2018
This is the most uncaring experience I have ever had. After waiting for months for this appointment and after driving for 1.5 hours, the nurse for Dr. ** would not allow me to be seen. I was 20 minutes late but could not reach them because they don’t answer phones in the building until 30 minutes after their first appointment. Despite begging to be seen, this nurse cruelly told the clerk to not schedule me for today. Unprofessional is the kindest thing I can call her. Vindictive more aptly describes this person. Perhaps, it was her first day, and she is unaware that customer satisfaction is a real thing. NCQA will hear of my member services complaint filed against her requesting empathy training. Kaiser is not the place for her.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2018
I am trying to do better with my life after dealing with 6 car accidents and losing 6 relatives in 4 years. I am trying to build up my strength so that mile I have to walk at the prison where I work isn't so bad. The psychiatrist and last doctor I saw agree with my plan. The doctor I saw today totally disregards my pain physical and emotional. I see inmates in prison get better treatment and this what I pay for. I feel like I am going to be going ** again at this rate. I can't take this no more.
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2018
Kaiser misdiagnosed three times. They lie. Customer service sucks. Doctors do not know what they are doing. Hope Kaiser gets shut down. Going to sue them in court. Hope they get what the deserve and get shut down by Medicare.
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2018
Customer service is lacking in the billing and medical records departments. If I could give zero stars I would. The yearly physical was a joke compared to other doctors I have gone to. Did not even check blood pressure. Five minute chat and a great big bill.
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2018
I started attempting to physically transition several years ago, but when I called Kaiser over four times I was told by the service member that they did not do hormone therapy at Kaiser. It wasn’t until much later when I met another transgender individual that I found out I had been lied to. After being on the phone for over two hours, I finally had an appointment with my new primary care doctor. However, this doctor had no idea about any kind of transgender healthcare despite the fact that that was what I specifically asked for with the servicemember.
After a significantly long time at figuring out what we needed to do I was finally referred to a behavioral health office. After having to make this appointment because I did not get a call despite my referral, I thought my troubles were over. However, this doctor had no idea about any kind of transgender health care despite the fact that that was what I specifically asked for with the servicemember. After a significantly long time at figuring out what we needed to do I was finally referred to a behavioral health office.
After having to make this appointment because I did not get a call despite my referral, I thought my troubles were over. The therapist that reviewed me was very kind and said they would refer me to an endocrinologist to start my hormone therapy. However, this did not happen. I have spent so much time on multiple phone calls attempting to try and get my referral to the endocrinologist but no one is helping me and I simply am going in circles. The communication at Kaiser is ridiculous. It is confusing and no one wants to help you. I don’t know if this is due to transphobia or simply a bad Kaiser system.
Reviewed Oct. 18, 2018
Don't choose Kaiser...unless you have zero medical concerns. I've had knee problems for a while, so they sent me to PT. Great, except the PT didn't help, even after I followed their exercises daily for 2 months. When I asked for next steps, doctor said to try a steroid shot. I didn't want to do that because of negative side effects. I asked, "Is there an alternative?" The doctor's response: "PT." When I pointed out that it hasn't helped and asked is there something else to try, the doctor said: "No."
That's Kaiser's policy in a nutshell: No to helping, no to providing guidance, no to thinking. They want you to Thrive because they certainly don't want to take care of you. Their doctors should be replaced by bots because they have to follow generic, scripted, computer-generated protocols anyway. This has been my experience across multiple departments at Kaiser. The only reason I've had them is because they are the only affordable insurance option for me, and I hope that they are better than nothing in a dire emergency (but based on my experience, I'm not sure if that's true).
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2018
At first I thought Kaiser was great! Everything under one roof, blood work, x-ray, doctor, Pharmacy etc... Yeah, that's great and all but if you can't see your Dr when needed what is the point of having a Dr. Today I hurt my back and I mean hurt!!! I couldn’t even walk, couldn't put weight on my legs, they would just collapse, couldn't stand up straight, had to crawl and they said they could get me in in a WEEK. A week, really! Or I could go to Kaiser er she said, Kaiser doesn’t even have an er in Stockton, you have to go to another hospital. A few months ago I had kidney stones and went to another hospital associated with Kaiser and got prescribed medication there that I was allergic to. My face was swollen and my eyes were swollen shut.
I contacted my Drs fill in through email and she suggested I should POSSIBLY see someone. Really, possibly, no apt, nothing! When I called the other hospital he changed the meds right away without being seen and said stop using it right away and that my airway could have closed off. Also I was sent to a dermatologist who misdiagnosed me. I handed over my money just for them to tell me I have something that I don’t and not treat what I did have, which was obvious. The list goes on and on...
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2018
This medical facility Kaiser Permanente is about as weird crazy non-caring worst Healthcare negligent delayed diagnosis medical facility I've ever experienced in my life. I won't even go into my detail. It's too long of a story and it would take way too long to say, type, read, etc. Portland Oregon Clackamas in particular has no doctors that help people at all. I have had an acute issue on top of my chronic problems and they have yet to see me after 14 months in regards to that they have not even scheduled a surgery for it. They put all kinds of stipulations on you in order to get your health care and if you can't get into those stipulations you can't abide by the rules they send you to a psychiatrist opiate addiction counselor or smoking counselor a weight-loss counselor.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2018
It's amazing to me that Kaiser can come back with their debt collectors (Rawlings Company LLC) more than a year from when a claim occurred and they only give insureds a short timeframe to dispute charges. From the time the police called and told us she was a passenger in an accident, we contacted Kaiser on our way to the hospital where she was taken. They KNEW where she was and the circumstances involved (this happened 03/30/17). We received a letter 09/17/18 that we owe Kaiser a dollar amount that will take us about 4 years to pay. Oh, and, we issued a complaint with the State's Attorney's office regarding another issue and out of the blue, Rawlings Company LLC sends the letter I referred to above. Kaiser is the least expensive plan being offered - it isn't the same as it was years ago.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2018
My daughter was injured in an accident while away at school which is approximately 200 miles away from home. Due to this accident, she experienced issues with her knee and ankle. Kaiser refuses to give her a referral to see a doctor near the school. They rejected the request. My daughter is suffering from these issues and Kaiser, a cruel, ruthless and evil organization, refuses to help my daughter. So now we have to make a trip to bring her home to see her doctor to get a referral which means it could be another 2 to 3 weeks before she will be able to see an orthopedic doctor. How cruel can an organization be? They don’t care about your health. It is all about their processes and no flexibility. Kaiser is fake. They don’t care about you. It is all about money.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2018
Waste time running to appointments, paying co-pays, needing pain meds - not getting any prescriptions! Still in pain - BUT have MRI results with a torn meniscus with swelling! Really - home exercises! In excruciating pain and waited a month for an appointment just to be seen be a PA - not the Orthopedic Surgeon! Co-pay after co-pay! This is really a scam!
Reviewed Oct. 2, 2018
I have been a member of this service because the union is the only service that offers us and it really makes fun of people for more than a year that I have been telling my doctor about a treatment and the truth is that they only deliberate the coas for another side saying I do not have anything. That is fine and the truth I took the medicines of pain and now I do not know what to do since again I have to weigh the treatment again mind and not know what to do now with this injustice.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2018
My family had KP in the past around 15-10 years ago. I started w/KP again this year w/my employer. Today, my step-father received a letter from KP of a "professional bill summary." This letter was addressed to him and w/information of MY services stating that I owe KP. My step-father does not use KP and has not had KP as an insurance for 10 years. Why is he receiving a letter w/my personal information? Lastly, I have checked the estimate generator if I owed anything to KP, I do not owe anything. I filed a grievance immediately. I called member services twice; during the first call the rep asked me to hold and after 16 mins of holding the call disconnected. KP completely bungled this whole situation.
Updated review: Sept. 27, 2018
I was able to speak with someone at length today who was helpful and who will be following through. So hoping for the best and grateful for the help today.
Original Review: Sept. 26, 2018
I have been a member of Kaiser since 1990 and have always raved about the many good aspects of their care. But now I could write a book on how Kaiser Dental had mistreated me, not once apologizing for mishandling a situation that caused me great suffering. However, to even repeat that experience in detail would only re-traumatize me. I will simply mention my recent attempt to obtain a refund for overpayment. I talked with countless people, sent letters, was transferred numerous departments and had my bank send documentation.
When calls that were accidentally lost (after repeating my story to countless people)- I got no callback, no one cared to follow through. I get sent the same letter telling me what to do- when they did not even read the letter I sent to them explaining I had already taken those steps and nothing has been done yet. This is the worst I have ever been treated by any business- my assumption is they don't want my business or they would invest in HUMAN BEINGS (as they once did) who would take the time to resolve your matter. Terrible service as opaque as it can be - no transparency here. Buyer beware.
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2018
My husband had had Kaiser for years, but I have always had PPO, and he said his insurance was "fine". It was not until got onto mine that he realized the extremely poor Kaiser really was. With Kaiser you can only see you own primary doctor, which was not necessarily a bad thing, however, when you have to wait months just to see the doctor it becomes an issue. One time he was in so much pain due to a soccer injury, it was "off" hours, so they told us to go to another hospital that is approved, upon getting there we were told that they were closed and that we could not be seen. We were then referred to another hospital for ER. We went there and was not told by Kaiser or the hospital that the insurance would not cover the expenses and it cost us $4000.
After moving to my PPO, my husband was astonished to find out that all you have to do is call and you can get seen the same day more often than not. Which was not available with Kaiser. The service was so bad with them that he just avoided going whenever he was sick because it was such a hassle. My experience with Kaiser was not too dissimilar, hard to be seen, slow or delayed surgery times, poor or incorrect information from customer service. It is amazing to me that a company as large as Kaiser could be so incredibly bad, that they are as bad as some of the government offices that really only care about getting through the day for a paycheck. Kaiser should close its doors or fire all their executives with people that actually can do healthcare right.
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2018
I received a letter from Kaiser one day that they had terminated my health insurance because I had a balance passed due of... 1 cent! Yes, no kidding, $0.01. When I tried to understand why I wasn't notified about this "debt" it turned out that Kaiser has sent me notification... to an old e-mail address that I was not using for months. I had updated the e-mail address in my profile on Kaiser's web site months ago but they kept sending messages to the old address. And every department I call at Kaiser give me the same robotic answer of reading me the policy that they can cancel my coverage if there is a balance due for more than 3 months. No one there seems to care that they made a mistake and the balance past due is a freakin' 1 cent!!
Reviewed Sept. 13, 2018
It's cheap, but you get what you pay for. And that's very little. Every time I really need a doctor I can't get an appointment. I'm usually healthy, but when I'm not I'd like to be able to see a doctor. This is apparently too much to ask of Kaiser. They have no problem taking my money every month, but big problems whenever I need anything from them.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2018
I had surgery on the 15th of last month, and immediately after, I filed a request for my medical records for that day as no one was telling me all that went on other than 'Here are some pills, go home'. This is not the first time I have been refused my records either. I had the same issue getting my records last year, as well as my sons records. Oh don't get me started on my son’s records. Those took me SIX MONTHS of arguing and threatening to get his records. He is a member of Kaiser as well, so there is no reason why those would be restricted to me.
Is it not against the law to refuse records? I pay this company to help me stay healthy, and they turn around and refuse a copy of what I paid for. Don't get me started on their treatment of me for the actual surgery and after care, that is a whole different reported issue. For the past four days, member services has told me "we will have someone call you tomorrow to get this taken care of" only for no one to call. If I call in myself, no one can be found who can help me. This is horrible treatment, and I will keep reporting and demanding my information wherever I can for it to be done.
Reviewed Sept. 9, 2018
Kaiser Flu Clinics do not open until late September. I am leaving for Alaska on 9/13/18. Kaiser will not provide my needed flu shot prior to 9/13/18 nor will they pay for one provided by Walmart, Safeway, Walgreens, CVS, etc. What happens if I come down with the flu in Alaska? Will Kaiser pay for my treatment? I think not. Kaiser is not into medical care. They are into making money and screwing people on Medicare (Medicare Fraud???). How disgusting.
Reviewed Sept. 8, 2018
I have been seeking treatment for hip pain since January. I was told by an outside physician I needed a double hip replacement. Kaiser of Tacoma has 1 surgeon and NO appointments or openings for surgery until at least December. I found a physician outside their network that had time and space to treat me. I pay for insurance and expect to get the care I need WHEN I need it - not be left to suffer more pain and possibly lose my job because they cannot hire enough physicians. What's the point of having insurance if they won't give you the care you need? Disgusting money grabbing pigs.
Reviewed Aug. 31, 2018
The so called radiologist RO, Kyung ** told me wrongful information and misguided me, totally abused my trust in a physician. She intimidated me and made me believing that I was at the risk of cancer when she knew it’s just microcalcification. RO Kyung ** tricked me into taking biopsy procedure, which is very painful and costly. RO, Kyung ** is not qualified to be a doctor, the worst physician I have encountered.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2018
I've had them 2 months, and very unsatisfied. Have a broken arm, to even get Tylenol 3. They want me to sign a contract, you taken some labs they should know I don't even drink, I've been sent to speak is after specialist, MRI, CT scan, etc. Paying out half of my SSDI in their co-pays, Dr. thinks I have an infection in bone area, yet after two weeks of trying to get that specializes test scheduled I give up. Canceling this insurance immediately, I stick with my Medicare...
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2018
I became quite sick about 10 days ago. Six days ago -via fax- I requested that KP email me my records so that my physician will see me. Still waiting almost a week later. They now say it could be another 5 days!! The Medical Records office is understaffed, slow, poorly run, or out of touch with what it means "to serve". No way to expedite my request? I've made it clear that I'm very sick and that I need to get this information. This is what makes America mediocre.
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2018
MRI Appointment at Kaiser - Washington DC - Kaiser specialist Dr requested to do a MRI scan and on checking for an appointment, the next available appointment at Reston is about a month from today, and to the next nearest one Tysons is 1 and 1/2 month from today. If I have a pain because of which an MRI scan is required, what sort of service they provide to get a treatment after a month. I'm sharing in the issue of public and please make your choice. Next year, I plan to choose a different health provider.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2018
Updated on 10/31/2018: Now I'm getting calls and letters from the hospital because Kaiser has been unresponsive and uncommunicative! Even though I go to a great doctor HERE, I get phone calls and letters from these idiots all the time telling me that I need this service or that service, that I need to come in. I have spent eight years telling these morons that I pay for a PPO so I can pick a GOOD doctor --not one of their cookie-cutter bozos -- so please stop calling. Nearly every single week -- for over EIGHT YEARS!
Obviously even the office staff is learning impaired and THEIR doctors are quacks -- have a fellow employee who actually went 90 minutes to their HMO and got an incorrect diagnosis and a prescription could have killed her -- even though she told them she was allergic to ** and it's knock-offs. Luckily she took the script to her own pharmacist and he caught it. If you're covered under Kaiser, I'm so sorry! They are a dreadful company. Luckily I'm not old enough for Medicare and I can't switch fast enough!
Original Review: My employer provides insurance to us via Kaiser. My company owner is in Northern Virginia, however our company is NOT. We are in Chesterfield County. The nearest HMO is 90 minutes away in Fredericksburg so we all have to pay way more for a PPO plan so we can at least choose a doctor 10 minutes away, rather than 90 minutes away. Their nearest "approved" hospital is THREE hours away from here! I was in hospital back in July and they called me in the hospital to say they were going to send an ambulance for me and take me to Stafford County (three hours away) to their approved facility.
Not only does this not sound medically safe, it doesn't even sound HUMANE to take someone away from the support of their family. My kids all work and have small children. Would they have been able to see me or help me with a three hours one way drive??? Now they have decided they won't cover my hospital stay because I turned down moving! They "might" cover it under their Tier Two (whatever that is) but I'll be responsible for 20%! If they are going to provide coverage for my employer, shouldn't they be required to provide fair and equitable insurance for ALL employees? A 90 minute drive to an HMO and moving a patient three hours away is NOT fair and equitable!
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2018
I need MRI head scan and prepaid $559, I was shocked to see the change is $6,262 plus $270 diagnostic which amounts to $6,532. My final amount is pending... I did a search for MRI head charge in Los Angeles area, $1500 maximum. Kaiser charge 4 times above average???
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2018
My daughter went to ER on a Sunday for a Bronchitis. Waited 2 hours sitting in the waiting room to finally see a Doctor who consulted her and gave her one medication to treat Bronchitis. All in all the Doctor spent 5 minutes with her. I have been charged $2000 for that. I disputed the invoice. After almost one month, I receive a denial letter. Kaiser maintains its billing and refers to EOC where it stays 40% is on me. But I am not disputing my part of the bill. I am disputing the bill itself. If my daughter was informed the bill would be $2000, she would not even stay for the consultation. The letter says Brad **. Can be called at ** but Brad's phone goes always to voicemail and 3 messages left and never returned the call.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2018
I just have to share how amazing everyone at Kaiser in Roseville is. I went in the other day at 3am, sadly having to drag my poor daughter with me. I ended up having really painful side effects from my IUD. Everyone I came in contact with went out of their way to make my daughter and I as comfortable as possible. They got us in right away, and brought us an extra bed for her ♡. They also brought her crackers, apple juice, and coloring stuff. They ran a bunch of test to make sure I was ok and it wasn't anything serious. Test came back fine, then finally the OBGYN Dr came down and helped me remove the IUD, which they could have said, it wasn't an emergency and to come back. But she wasn't busy, so she came down. And like I suspected, that was the root to all my pain. Thank you, to all the employees at Kaiser for all their top service. Especially those who were able to make my daughter and I so comfortable.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2018
If you are a parent dealing with Kaiser when you have a child that has complicated symptoms can be a nightmare. To begin my daughter has had repeated visits to different doctors at Kaiser for at least the last five years for stomach and headache related concerns. These were suggested to be a normal complaint for children or possibly anxiety related. My repeated request for imaging to be done was pushed away as unnecessary to expose her to. Finally after all the ignorance of ignoring her symptoms my daughter has started to have neurological symptoms that resulted in an ER visit where the verbal suggestions were possible multiple sclerosis and should see a neurologist and have an MRI. I requested the possible suggested diagnosis be documented but upon review of her records it was not. I changed her pediatric doctor and clinic to who after reading reviews I thought would be a great doctor.
Wow after a review of my daughters records the doctor criticized me for being so demanding and suspects that wonderful child syndrome is in play Whatever that means. I was also criticized in the records for not allowing the second dose of the HPV shot because symptoms seemed to get worse after her first dose. One thing did come out of that visit my daughter did see a great neurologist who actually listened and did the needed MRI which sadly shows 6 brain lesions and we are now playing a wait and see game to see a multiple sclerosis specialist and my request for a timely appointment are being ignored. In her record it states I am the one who suspects the multiple sclerosis as if I invented this, when it should be documented that the ER gave the suggestion. I am learning a lot while we wait. No family or child should have to go through this.
I started looking up doctors on the state doctors website and one of the doctors my daughter was sent to that put off her 20 day periods as normal and offered birth control as the Fix has already had an arbitration Malpractice award against her. Kaiser’s slogan when they send those reviews to patients say "Good is not Good enough." I can’t even say that my daughter has received good care. Multiple Sclerosis is incurable and if that’s what she has then Kaiser is to blame fully as being negligent. I pray it’s something else but time will only tell as Kaiser plays the wait game with us despite me filing a grievance almost one month ago. Kaiser doctors can continue to criticize me for being an advocate for my child when they have continued to fail her but as her mother I will continue to fight for her well being because that is my job as her mother.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2018
Got a simple ordinary eye exam at Kaiser. Our plan calls for us paying 80% of this cost. No physical glasses or contacts were purchased. Just the eye exam. The cost was $314 for this exam. We had to pay $262. There was even a lab charge for this exam. What an exorbitant rate considering what other eye doctors charge. Kaiser is pitiful.
Reviewed Aug. 1, 2018
I have been on KP Insurance for most of my life, childhood and on, and I've had some experiences. These doctors have earned my contempt for sure over the years. Most certainly, one of my most awful experience was with a KP gynecologist, when I was 17. I'd gone in for a bacterial infection and learned I was pregnant. Pretty heavy for a teenager. This Dr proceeded to tell me if I wanted to go to college and not ruin my life, to get an abortion. Besides that, I had an "abnormal" pap smear, and had her nurse call and harass me for months after! What a weirdo!
This is just one experience out of several... Oh, and did I mention that a KP doctor is partly responsible for taking too long to get my mother to see a specialist for her liver. Instead he kept having her try different medications and she had a huge red basket full by the time he was done dicking her around! So finally a liver specialist... to tell her, "You've got 6 months to live... Why didn't you come in sooner!" And now, not only has KP contributed to my mother's death, but now I'm not sure if my daughter's death was purely accidental because NO one ever answers an e-mail with real answers! THANK YOU to the Oregon/Washington Kaiser Permanente Doctors!!! You all suck!
Reviewed July 29, 2018
My previously healthy brother was constantly going to emergency rooms, and making appointments for his primary provider the last year of his life. It's criminal how Kaiser let his health decline by NON-TREATMENT / NEGLIGENCE. It seems like his doctors were all about saving costs. In the hospital, doctors rotate EVERY WEEK. WHY??? To prevent a doctor-patient relationship? The doctors might actually try to help the patients if they get to know them - causing increased costs.
My brother felt horrible, was very weak (to point of not driving), he had abdominal pain, nausea, bruising, intermittent confusion (normally sharp mentally - civil engineer). Kaiser did nothing, but say he had "vertigo" (dizziness) and send him home. VERTIGO IS A SYMPTOM NOT A DIAGNOSIS! His last month of life we family/wife were taking him to the ER 4-5 times a week. He was finally admitted on a Thursday, almost discharged home that Sunday, then on Wednesday we were told he had one week to live. He died of "Hepatorenal syndrome" caused by an acute inflammation of the liver 6 days later.
When he was admitted, lab work showed he had normal kidney function. He developed kidney failure in the hospital. Nothing was done to prevent it, or treat it. He/we knew nothing of liver impairment until 6 days before his death, but his hospital and doctor visits for the prior year were all related to liver impairment symptoms. My brother was not a spring chicken, but he was too young to die!!! He had a wife, 3 children, and very young grandkids. Both parents and 6 siblings, including his twin brother, who we are very worried about because of the depth of this traumatic experience to him - all are grieving him. WHY??? Because Kaiser would rather save money than have costs from diagnosing and treating a sick person.
Reviewed July 27, 2018
My Doctor put in an urgent referral for a wound nurse and for me to call the next day to see what time a nurse would come out. I called Home Health and the lady, Patricia who schedules nurses said I'd have to wait another 24 hours. I said Doctor put urgent and he said a nurse would be out in 24 hrs. She said she does the schedules and Doctor can't tell her when to schedule and she doesn't go by urgent. I said she needed to call Doctor as I will also call him. She said not a problem she will call Doctor and tell him not to give time frames. I am in horrible pain and can't get to E.R. This isn't the first time Home Health hasn't been able to do their job. They need to train these people and remind them we are paying their salaries, they don't pay me. If you have choice not to pick Kaiser definitely DON'T choose them. Just horrible service all around.
Reviewed July 25, 2018
I have had two medical needs for which I have sought help from Kaiser since my employer switched to them to save money. It is very clear that you get what you pay for. After waiting for birth control for two months, I am still using the diaphragm I've had since 2006. The bumbling incompetence of everyone I spoke to about getting a new one, in which process I learned that most doctors at Kaiser don't know anything about them, and those that do, do not communicate with the others about how patients can go about getting one, has been astounding.
I have also had severe neck pain that makes me unable to turn my head for the past month, and have asked my provider for a referral to a chiropractor. My provider, after standing me up for a phone appointment and failing to respond to several of my emails, finally sent a referral to the referral department. Another 10 days, and my referral came through... To a chiropractor that told me they are not in-network for Kaiser. I give up on getting health care from Kaiser. I'm going to just try not to get sick until we get a reasonable administration and Congress and we get Medicare for All, which is the only sane alternative to our dysfunctional for-profit health care system.
Reviewed July 24, 2018
I have always been on PPO but switched to Kaiser Permanente because my Family goes there and it is close to home. Now I can't wait for open enrollment to run back to PPO. At Kaiser I was falsely accused of positive urine test results for Narcotics. I asked for a retest and was given one and again they said it was the same. I requested the test results and was told I could see them on the Patient website. This was over 2 months ago and still no results. Due to these "positive" test results. My Dr. Stopped my sleeping medication - I have suffered from Insomnia for many years. I emailed the Dr requesting my medicine and it was denied. I don't know why this test was done to begin with. Is the Patient suppose to be notified?
It's been almost 4 months since this happened. My Mother passed away late May and with my Bereavement, I sleep no more than 3 hours a night. Before my Mother passed away, I saw my Dr. For excessive anxiety (my Mom was on Hospice at home) and still no sleep. I requested something for the anxiety. I felt I was going to have a heart attack. Again, my request was denied. Her response was "I am not going to prescribe narcotics." Instead she recommended I go see a psychiatrist. (I was grieving.) I don't and have never been a drug user. My work does random drug tests throughout the year. I would not jeopardize my job. I am very disappointed and can't wait to get another Ins. I've read some reviews on here and see how many people go through the exact same thing... Why are they allowed to do this?
They take our $$ by way of co payments and of course medication that they want to give us... Not what we need. If a procedure or test is needed, they say no. My Mother requested a D-Dimer test to check for blood clots in her legs due to pain and was told she didn't need it because she didn't have them. After she got a new Dr. The test was performed and it was positive for blood clots. MRI was done (at my Sister in law's request) and it took forever to get it. We had to take her to the ER because she also had blood clots in her lungs... This whole time they wasted could have kept my Mother here longer (wishful thinking). The MRI results showed a mass in her pancreas and liver. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. We lost her 3 weeks later.
Kaiser knows what my Family and I have gone through. I am going to Counseling and was told I needed my sleep to function when I return to work. I agree and through this painful time in my life with no sleep and anxiety. I still can't get the help I need and have requested from Kaiser. I am given medication that does very little or nothing to help. I hope and pray to God that nothing happens while I am commuting to work.
Reviewed July 24, 2018
Went to see Dr ** for my minor child's physical and she asked if she could see her privately, which I said ok to and then the doctor tried to actively sell her on the HPV vaccine when I had said we are still doing our research on it and did not want it yet. Doctors should not be undermining parents.
Reviewed July 20, 2018
I had a fall that resulted in 5 bulging discs in my lumbar spine. I have been seen by Kaiser Pain Management three times. The first time I entered the office in tears and was "There is nothing we can do for you." The 2nd time they tried a facet joint injection which worsened the pain. The 3rd time the increased a medication that I was later told by a surgeon should have never been prescribed. Now they are not offering any other options. Why call yourself pain management when you are not able to manage the pain and offer nothing? I am disgusted!
Reviewed July 19, 2018
Kaiser is one big bureaucracy where they treat you more or less like a unit to go through a production line rather than a human being. I have upcoming surgery. They won't tell me the time. They won't tell me post op instructions. They are unprofessional, bureaucratic, and anything connected with them involves delay and problems. The only advantage is they are cheap. Go elsewhere if you can.
Reviewed July 18, 2018
Kaiser confuses members by not making it clear if your policy covers durable medical equipment. If get medical coverage through your employer you're covered with DME, if you buy Kaiser Insurance on your own you don't have the option you are not covered for their durable medical equipment nor allowed to buy a plan that covers DME.
Reviewed July 17, 2018
I sent I two payments one for May and one for June, so Kaiser closed my account due to late payments on April 30 2018? But accepted my payments on May 24 and June 24 2018. First the reason was late payment, then to overpayment, they sent the payment for June and said that May payment was applied to April but my account was closed? Talk about lies and stealing your money. Somebody needs to investigate this company because they seem to cancel after they receive your payments.
Reviewed July 11, 2018
Over 10 years and 100 hours of meetings and nutritionists and psychiatrists and specialists and they still refuse to do the gastric bypass. I started this journey before I had type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, arthritis and knee and back pain. I recognized that I needed drastic measures before my body degenerated. I have been a Kaiser member for decades in Northern California. In the time I have been in the program, multiple friends in other health care programs have had their surgeries within 6 months of their BMI measurements.
This group is a cluster suck. Take for example the goal weight. You are overweight with a morbidly obese body mass index and they ask you to lose 10 percent of your body weight. For many this is 40-50 pounds! They say that it is to make the surgery safe but that is bull crap because they do that same surgery for people twice your size regularly. Then they make you meet with a psychiatrist who will tell you that you know why you are overweight like they did me.
Meetings with nutritionists are cancelled after you have driven 45 minutes plus to get to their remote locations for your meetings. The orientation is 4 hours with no breaks. I could go on and on. You are better off choosing a different insurance carrier where you are treated with respect and not like you are a burden to their statistics. All they care about is presenting barriers to your success in getting ANY SURGERY.
Reviewed July 11, 2018
You're going to have to call every single day, or showing up all the time, and keep repeating the same information, jumping through a ton of hoops to get a hold of anyone, because their website and apps are constantly down. Then when you get a hold of someone, they tell you they are booked for over a month... even with dozens of locations across my area and completely empty waiting rooms. So I finally pushed to get an urgent appointment by saying some magic code words probably - but at a place that looks like the dingiest Principal's Office and they have you fill out paperwork that looks like it's from a fax machine from 1995, then other questions on an iPad. The receptionist isn't helpful or warm, and looks like she just got hit by a bus.
Then I was matched with someone who didn't have any background training in my diagnosis, wouldn't even let me transfer files from my other doctor on my decades of background, and didn't even do the Kaiser intake properly. Which I had to make 3 MORE appointments for, for some reason. The doctor also kept steering me down random leading questions and drudging about abuse stories, without giving proper adequate empathetic care, and without answering any of my questions about what I came in for. When I started crying from annoyance, the doctor gave me a new diagnosis that I clearly do not have and slapped it onto my Kaiser records. To look like she's doing something, presumably. So the process had to start all over again, after I issued a formal complaint.
I have a Mensa level IQ, am mid-level-functioning, and I am usually a very kind woman. I can't believe they left me more broken and vulnerable than when I went in there. I honestly kind of feel badly for these people. Anyway, I continued paying a good Specialist outside of Kaiser, out of pocket in the hundreds, so I can continue the medication that I actually need to function, while trying to stay patient with Kaiser's poor systems design runarounds. Kaiser is like a 50-operators hydra-serpent Medusa that wants you to turn to stone and simply go away, so they can continue to surf Facebook. I don't want to yell on the phone like a child - but eventually they leave me with no choice.
Crying or yelling at them is the only way to get an appointment in the time that is actually necessary to fill the needed prescriptions, or for other important psychiatric matters that they fail to follow up with anyway, even after the 15 promised days. Talk about negligence. All they seem to talk about is "are you suicidal yet? Are you suicidal yet? Are you suicidal yet?" NO! I'm not and never was, but oh my goodness... how they could be driving others that way, like my career mentor and cherished friend who did commit suicide quickly, under their so called "care". That's why it says "IF IT'S AN EMERGENCY CALL 911" all over their website. Because they are admitting that they are completely and utterly incompetent, untimely, and worsen all symptoms.
Meanwhile months later, I'm still just trying to get my prescriptions transferred at the minimum. I'm waking up 4 hours earlier than usual tomorrow, so that I can meet an appointment that POOF... magically appeared after complaining enough. I don't usually talk like this, but I am so annoyed. If I have such a hard time getting through, then imagine all the lower-functioning people or poorer people who can't get afford a backup plan, who are blatantly suffering daily or needlessly dying on their Kaiser plans!!! It is inexcusable. I should have paid $50 extra per month and just went with a different provider individual plan. Which I'm even considering again, if tomorrow doesn't go smoothly. As I will have to!!!
Reviewed July 9, 2018
Almost 6 years ago, I hurt my back. I have so many things wrong with it. At the time, I didn't have Kaiser, but a fantastic insurance that covered everything and the people were very helpful. In the beginning, I had cortisone shots, nerve blockers, RFA, PT and Pain Mgmt Drugs. When my Dr at the Spine Institute realized nothing was helping, I was set up for an appointment with a surgeon who was willing to do surgery. A week before my appointment, our insurance was changed to Kaiser. I had to jump through all the hoops of shots and pain meds again, including as going so far as to be put on the **patch (70 Mg patch every 72 hours), **(300 mg 3X a day), **, ** AND ** (3 X a day) ALL AT ONCE.
5 years later, I can't stand the pain anymore. The MRI shows that I have encroachment on the nerves and narrowing of the spinal canal, it says it on the results but no one will do anything about it. Pain Management, lose weight and PT is the recommendation yet again. The surgeon says "Nothing is pressing on the spine or causing nerve pain." Seriously?? It's right there in black and white in the test results!!!
They insist that the numbness in my foot is diabetic neuropathy. However, when I twist my back a certain way, that foot and leg come shooting back to life with tingling and pain. How is that related to my diabetes? We buy our Insurance through the Health Exchange and will now be looking for a different company. I am not about to go through the rest of my life living in constant pain and having narcotics shoved down my throat. (which, by the way, they were refusing to refill my anxiety meds, but wanted to give me opioids, cause THAT makes sense.) I strongly recommend that if you are giving the choice of Kaiser or any other insurance.. take the other insurance. Kaiser is not worth the pain in the butt (literally!!!).
Reviewed July 6, 2018
5 years ago I had a bunion procedure, the treatment plan was changed during the surgery by the dr. He decided to break my toe and shave the bone from the “inside”, when it was to be done on the outside bone. I have a screw in my toe now. After the procedure, I followed up with the dr and told him my foot was dark blue. He took a picture of it and sent to a dermatologist because he didn’t know what was causing the discoloration of my foot. I never heard back from him and was referred to another specialist who offered to make “corrections”. When searching for an Atty. I couldn’t find one to take on a malpractice case against Kaiser. The dr was transferred to another area. I’m still at Kaiser but will be trying to change insurances now. Beware, Kaiser is an HMO plan that has doctors who graduated at the lowest of the class in medical school.
Reviewed July 5, 2018
I'm offended. I had a false positive drug test for ** and asked for a retest. Now they want another drug screen and won't give me results. They are really rude. When I asked for my test results and complained to member services they sent me to records management.
Reviewed July 3, 2018
My family and I moved to Northern California few years back. I was already set on changing medical plans but my husband insisted we just give them another chance coming from The Bay Area. I don't have the best health and I am anemic. Once my labs were in and my old doctor would contact me and send in for iron infusion. Anemia basically sucks the life out of you no energy and feeling horrible. My kids are under 10 so I need to be ok. Well I have been anemic numbers the lowest they have been in years and spoke to my doctor and he is like "Ya you take extra vitamins and we will check you again in 6 months." Another time went to ER a few weeks ago had a fever, vomiting and face going numb. Got there took my vitals went to the back sat I a chair. A female doctor came in and said, "Let me swipe your throat. I think you have STREP." No joke!
She did not look in my ear, listen to my heart, ask me anything. She said I'm going to give you antibiotics and I said, "Well when will I know if it's positive?" She said "You Won't since I'm just gonna treat you with antibiotics." I spent a whole 3 minutes with her said one sentence. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Just shove medication/antibiotics down me without knowing whats wrong???? There are many other incidences that I just can't go into. That was the last straw. I'm already tired. I don't have the energy to allow these doctors to expect my health to take a back seat. They are all in the same network read the same notes and really do not care. I am done with Kaiser's choice in not educating these doctors regularly on how to be good doctors compassionate and understanding. It is almost non existent to have good honest and quality care. I have changed plans hope it goes into effect soon.
Reviewed July 3, 2018
If you are an addict Kaiser has programs for you. But if you are already on ** for chronic pain, be prepared to get nothing at Kaiser. Maybe after several weeks months of jumping through hoops. Be prepared to detox if becoming a new Kaiser patient.
Reviewed June 28, 2018
Kaiser is like Walmart. As long as all you want is toothpaste or toilet paper it’s fine. But if you want a good pair of shoes, a nice suit or a new chair for your living room, Walmart is not the place to shop. Same is true of Kaiser. If all you want is for a GP to order routine tests, prescribe generic prescriptions and check your BP and weight each year, you'll probably give Kaiser 5 stars. But run into anything a wee bit complex with your labs and, IMH and very sad experience, the GPs at Kaiser do not know what they are doing and are likely to miss the issue altogether.
I had three blood labs run which showed a high alert for a blood issue which was way outside of Kaiser's standard range. My GP did not even notice. This issue impacted my energy level and I had been complaining about fatigue for three years. I finally researched the information myself and yep, one of the common effects of this blood issue was fatigue. All that was required to fix it was a simple blood draw called a phlebotomy. It differs only from a blood donation only in that after the blood draw, labs are need to be run to see how much the issue was improved. Kaiser would not do this and recommended that I simply donate blood somewhere else! How's that for a treatment?
In addition to not catching the issue to begin with, three of the labs required needed to be fasting labs done first thing in the morning according to Kaiser's own lab guidelines. I was not told this and all three labs were done after lunch in the afternoon so the results were really meaningless. In the past when I did not need much I would have voted KP a 4 or 5 star rating. Now...1-2. Like Amazon is waking up Walmart, Kaiser needs to realize that there are now new health care providers who are providing good, nonbureaucratic health care at a reasonable price.
I have left KP and will never return because I am certain that it cannot change. It is now a bloated bureaucratic organization structured in such a way that no one involved in healthcare has a personal stake. In a small office, everyone treats a patient both as a patient and a customer because they don't want to lose the business. KP however is so damn big that individual medical practitioners worry only about satisfying the bloated beast that feeds them.
Reviewed June 22, 2018
Recently went thru stressful body challenges and was sent to a dozen different tests, blood panels, ultrasounds, cyst drain, endometrial biopsy (no pain meds administered), physical (had to ask Dr to review my file?) and they cannot figure out what is causing excessive bleeding. Asked for hormone testing and was told no? Looking at my bills it seems that they just bounce you around with no intention on you getting better, paid quite a bit in copays and fees. Not one Dr. has reached out with concern or worry, just the template here is the long list of meds you can take (for life!) or surgery. Saddened at this whole experience esp as I still don't know what's wrong. Horrified at this approach and the many stuck in the merry go round to milk your pocket book. Change insurance if you can, Kaiser truly does not care nor want you to get better.
Reviewed June 12, 2018
When I first signed up I got calls and welcome packages and they would call to make sure I was all good. Once I started using my expensive meds that they covered I noticed they got more cold. I knew it was real when their electronic payment protocol stopped taking my payments. I was fighting to pay them my premium since it was now late because of their site, they then used that late payment to say they couldn’t reinstate me. Even look at their app and see if you can find a way to pay your bill. Money hungry company who will let you die before they help you.
Reviewed June 9, 2018
You are instructed once on exercises to be done at home, then referred to internet app where you notify Kaiser that you have done the exercises. After creating account, I used app. My exercises are prescribed to be done 2-3 times daily, but when I logged in to document I did my second session, the site is frozen. It only lets you document once daily, so, you will probably get admonished on MD visit for not doing your exercises. I tried to delete my account, and there was no way to do so.
Reviewed June 8, 2018
I cannot believe how complicated this system is! They want me to give a credit card for my prescription but won't know how much it is until I pay for it. Seriously? I took 2 weeks and several phone calls on hold to find a Dr. I was told no payment for blood test. Now have $100 bill for the test etc etc.
Reviewed June 4, 2018
I love Kaiser Permanente Insurance's website and the easy access to my doctor through email. She is always prompt and helpful in answering. I also love the easy access to reports and information.
Reviewed June 1, 2018
I injured my knee 9/2017 and went to my primary care doctor who took x-rays and said no bones are broken. I requested a referral to the orthopedic department where the doctor "confirmed" what the primary care doc had said. No bones may be broken but something is wrong because the pain is intense. In April 2018, I finally convinced the orthopedic doc to take an MRI. He goes, "Oh, you have a torn meniscus and need surgery to repair this." He sent an email with the OR scheduler's information. I was told that the doctor had not put in the order!!! And to make things worst, I was told he had no availability until the end of August.
I made several attempts for requesting the OR surgery submission. Today 6/1, I was told the doc is off until Wed. and a note will be left in his box. This SOB has not responded to any of my contacts. I asked to speak to the Chief of Orthopedics Dr. **. At this point, I definitely do NOT want Dr. ** performing surgery on my leg. I will never trust somebody with my life when I have to go over their head to get something done. Kaiser used to be great. I had this insurance for 12+ years. Today I do not recommend Kaiser to anyone.
Reviewed May 30, 2018
I had surgery in the Lone Tree Orthopedics Department to repair a torn bicep tendon. After surgery, I told the doctor twice that something didn't feel right, and he assured me that all was fine. I asked three times about PT, since everything I had read on this surgery stated that PT was necessary, but he told me I didn't need it and wouldn't refer me. Several months after I was cleared, I returned to the office to see a different doctor, and he told me that my tendon was not attached and that it was now too late to fix it. I was bounced to another doctor in the office who, after two weeks, finally told me that he would not do the surgery either. I was bounced to a third doctor at a different location, who, thankfully, did agree to do the surgery.
Kaiser continued to charge me for these second and third opinions, and their member services offered no solution, assistance, or support. Instead, I received a form letter that simply repeated my concerns and stated that the appropriate departments would be notified of these concerns. I was hoping that someone from the Lone Tree offices or from member services would simply say, "We're sorry that this happened, and, if you want to attempt a second surgery, we'll support you with our best orthopedic surgeon and our best aftercare," but, of course, no one from either entity ever said that. I would never recommend the Lone Tree Kaiser location to anyone. The lack of accountability and quality care made my experience with them horrible in every way.
Reviewed May 30, 2018
I have had Kaiser for years in Virginia through my mother's plan. I feel lucky to be covered, but their system is NOT nearly as user friendly as they pride themselves upon. After one late payment because of a system error through billing, they immediately removed total access. I get that this could be a setting, but it has been a YEAR trying to return access of self-service appointments and prescription refills. Countless phone calls. Still do not have access to it. That means I get to sit through an automated phone process and rude support people (8/10 times) for this problem to still be an issue. And Kaiser mental health? ** believably annoying. Made an appointment for the end of June in MARCH of this year. Okay, whatever. I get a call mid-May told the provider will be out of town, giving me a number to reschedule.
Okay... Call the number and it's a random number. Literally. Finally called today to reschedule because I was so pissed. I waited about two weeks (my bad, whatever) and get told mid-July is when I can first get an appointment. But you all CANCELLED MY APPOINTMENT? Why wasn't I put in the next slot? Why weren't appointments moved to compensate the WEEK my provider took off? I think it's totally ** to cancel someones psychiatric appointment and not have a second option for them. Five plus years with this insurance and I am more disgusted and displeased with them every ** day. Their online system, behavioral health, and customer service is a joke. Providers are fine. Wish I had more options. Difficult to get referrals.
Reviewed May 30, 2018
Overbilling. I have the Affordable care act Bronze Plan, all I could afford. I checked with the billing department about the cost of a ** hip injection. I was given a figure of $500 and change. When the bill comes it was $1000. The average cost of a ** injection is $300.
Reviewed May 29, 2018
We signed up for the KP Gold plan when our insurance plan left Atlanta. Prices were raised for this year and our premiums this year alone will be $26k. There are many positive things about Kaiser. Everyone is pleasant and the primary doctor is good. Prescriptions are filled at the pharmacy located in the building. The real challenge happens when you need a specialist. I hurt my knee, and the wait to see an orthopedic doctor averages 30 days, even if you cannot walk. I had an X-ray for a $75 copay, and an MRI for $250 more. I aggravated it and was wheeled into their emergency clinic and charged $70 for the copay. I asked for a ** shot, and they don't do it there. I was sent home with an elastic bandage, and told to take ** and ice it... I still could not walk... some value. If you are shopping plans, consider the fact that Kaiser Permanente in Georgia has too many patients and too few specialty doctors. Expect a long, painful wait.
Reviewed May 21, 2018
I cannot recommend Kaiser. You are a number there, they don't care. The dermatology department in Roseville is the worst. It takes seven to eight phone calls to get a follow up appointment! Not the next week, you have to wait two months for a follow up appointment and you don't even get the doctor. Then they assign you via system to an appointment without consulting with you if this fits. Similar experience with the Endocrinologist. At this department they give you even a wristband for a normal visit, that shows you already there. How they think about the patient, he or she is just a number. Kaiser is good with the lab work, very easy and very good with the pharmacy. You can also make very easy an appointment with a primary care doctor and OBGYN, the rest is a nightmare. I can't wait to switch back.
Reviewed May 17, 2018
It's been over a year, and Dr. ** and the rest of Kaiser have not been able to process my disability properly. We go back and forth, and they still can not do it. They have no clue how to fill out disability paperwork. Also I have been trying to set up an appointment for over 3 weeks. I don't care how far out the appointment is, or where (I will drive to New York from California if that is what I need to do to see a doctor), but they have been unable to set up an appointment.
Reviewed May 15, 2018
I went to your Lone Tree office at about 9 or 10 am on Friday to see someone in urgent care because I was told to go to urgent care by my doc. When I got there it was 10 am and I know I had a copay so I went to the desk to pay it and was told that I can't see them until 12 pm. Until then they would not see me because I didn't have an appointment to see urgent care and I would have to call my doc to make an appointment with urgent care so this can only come from home office so I have to believe that your patients are the last thing on Kaiser's mind. It is a shame that Kaiser cares less about their patients but I know now how much Kaiser really cares but at least I can let the internet know that Kaiser would rather see their patients dead than use their time. It is a shame that you are allowed to kill your patients instead of helping them.
Reviewed May 14, 2018
I have read a lot of the reviews on here about Kaiser. I find the premiums along the same lines of all other insurances and I shopped around before choosing them. I have no trouble getting an appointment with my provider, that I myself was allowed to pick from an array of providers, even on the same day. They have been thorough and always prescribed medication if it was needed. If I needed to be referred out, they had no problem doing so. I can schedule appointments with my pre-selected specialist online, just as I can with my PCP and urgent care when needed. My prescriptions only take a few minutes to be filled, no waiting. Overall I think they are wonderful and have taken excellent care of my needs.
Reviewed May 11, 2018
I have experienced a variety of faults with Kaiser Permanente (KP) with my medical care as well as with the administration. First, I have been lied to at numerous times regarding whether a copay would be assessed or not for having blood drawn through a needle stick versus a standard draw. I was told a stick would be at no cost but the draw would be subject to a copay. After getting a stick done, I was promptly charged a $10 copay. Further, during a post-op visit, was told again no copay however, after the visit received a bill for a $20 copay. KP does not take responsibility or is accountable for these actions.
Also, I was promised a Protime monitor by physician in charge, Dr. Richard ** so that I could home monitor my INR levels due to a pre-existing blood abnormality and we have made an agreement that if I came in to KP for training on the device, I would get it FREE OF CHARGE. The next day, Dr. ** reneged on our agreement. In an effort to escalate to the Medical Director and finally the Chief Administrative Officer, James **, I was informed over the telephone by Mr. ** that they would not honor that agreement since the story just happened to be conveniently changed by Dr. ** when he and Mr. ** spoke about it. Mr. ** was extremely condescending to me as well would not take responsibility to fix the problem. And finally the staff at KP in general is not trained very well since I have repeatedly found them making a multitude of mistakes over time.
Reviewed May 1, 2018
For years I have had private insurance, I have also had HMOs. I was never pleased with any of the services of other medical insurance. I thought “Well, I want to pick my own doctors and hospital of my choice”. In actuality Private was crappy. I also had a separate private mental health insurance which never seemed to be proactive. I have heard horror stories of HMOs and Kaiser so I avoided selecting Kaiser. As a person who has a permanent disability both mental and physical I had to make a choice on medical insurance so I selected Kaiser. I have been taken back at the quality of care, I have a choice to pick my own facility or doctor. I do not have to make an appointment with my general practitioner to get a referral for a specialist. All the negatives were not present in all of my experiences with Kaiser, in fact my medical care was of a higher quality than I have ever had with private insurance.
Now on the mental, I also have a choice of facilities and doctor, therapist, group care, programs unknown in my experience with private insurance. What is even more fantastic I have online access to all my medical information as well as all of my providers I have seen. Blood test etc. there is no need to call a private doctor to submit docs or CD on treatment received. My experience with private doctors, most seem preoccupied, maybe it is the high cost of workers comp, leasing facilities and cost to belong to a particular hospital etc. Private medical offices seem to have angry, disappointed sloppy workers.
I when I went to St Jude in Fullerton. They placed me In a room where blood splatters were part of the decor. All the while the nurses are cackling loudly. The workers in my experiences with Kaiser seem thankful, happy and content. I know things can change due to personalities and change in management, but so far so good. I guess it really pays to be a union worker.
Reviewed April 27, 2018
I went to the emergency room, last night, because I have an abscess on my tooth and high fever. After waiting for 4 hrs. They did absolutely nothing. No ** for fever. Nothing for pain. Doctor said I am not a dentist. Which I understand, but when a dentist is not available, what are you supposed to do.
Reviewed April 24, 2018
If you have Kaiser pray that you don't get injured or sick, because they will send you hidden bills and charges 2 weeks past your procedure. All I had done is an x-ray. Which supposedly cost them $995 dollars, yeah right. You kidding me. I pay $540/month; then had to pay $75 co-pay, then two weeks later another $45 - FOR ONE X-RAY. Btw the x-ray was total waste of time, which I had told them ahead of item.
They punish you for using their services, they want your money. See they advertise that everything is under one umbrella, whoa ho!! Hold your horses, you will be getting different bill from different departments. For 1 single x-ray that took them less than 5 minutes, I have got mailed two separate bills already: "Hospital bill" and "Professional Services bill". I am not looking forward to use Kaiser. They are in for money, not patient care. It's sad they have become so big.
Reviewed April 23, 2018
My 103-year-old mother in law broke her hip a little less than 3 weeks ago. This is her 2nd break. The first one (a minor fracture) happened less than a year ago. She is not able to stand on her own 2 feet independently. She obviously can’t walk. She can do nothing for herself. She has pneumonia and even had to have her lungs suctioned yesterday. But Kaiser says “She’ll be ready to go home” at the end of 2 weeks in a rehabilitation center.
We have been taking care of my mother in law for over 5 years. We know what it takes to care for her, but this is beyond our capabilities. It INFURIATES ME that Kaiser declares her ready to be released in her best interest. I’ve been reading up on the mortality rate for the elderly being accelerated if they are discharged too soon after hip surgery. The morbidity rate has a significant increase for those told to go home too soon. She even has a heart murmur that is a comorbid factor in her ability to heal.
I don’t know what to do except make a public complaint. She would benefit so much more from the resources available in a place that is able to meet her medical needs. How does Kaiser expect us to suction her lungs when a pulmonary embolism is a constant threat? I’m scared to death and know that this unfair to both my mother in law and her caregivers here at home (me, my husband, and my sister in law). It is blatant malpractice and it only confirms the concerns we have had about Kaiser Permanente and their level of care for their patients.
Reviewed April 23, 2018
I received my paperwork for CONTA coverage the beginning of March 2018. I decided to sign up for it, since I needed medical for 2 months before my new job’s insurance. Bad mistake. Not only did they deposit it, but I wasn’t covered for the month of snatch. 1st time I called after mailing the payment, rep said should only take a few days to kick in. Less than a week later, check was mailed locally to her. I still had no coverage and check had not cleared. I called again and this time was told I had to speak to my work regarding COBRA even after I told her that I already spoke to them and was told they don’t handle because a Kaiser prefers to handle it directly. I called my work again and was told to contact Kaiser. I called and spoke to the same rep who again said I had to talk to my work. Meantime my check cleared my account and I was showing no coverage.
3rd call spoke to same rep again. After insisting she speak to a supervisor she finally admitted she was wrong and it takes 30-35 days to process COBRA to which I said, "Cancel my coverage, because at the end of 45 days I would almost be on my new employers." I also mentioned my check cleared. I got an answer to my complaint and request for refund. They refused even though they admitted I had no coverage for the month of March. Even if I had written the required termination letter it wouldn’t take effect until the next month. But they were more than happy to take a retro letter pushing it back to April instead of May. I am extremely angry and upset with Kaiser. There was no way to terminate March in February and not only that they admitted that I paid for no coverage in March and too bad they were keeping my money despite providing me no coverage.
They are crooks who take your money and if you are entitled to a refund too bad. Also sorry if you had no coverage for the month you paid. Kaiser will be more than happy to go after someone if you had an accident, but when it comes to money they owe you they will lie and cheat you to keep it. For a non profit that is not supposed to be making money off of their customers they are crooks. I love their doctors but their accounting dept is crooked and they need to be investigated for their behavior.
Updated on 05/17/2018: So Kaiser told me I had to appeal to Managed Health Care after my denial by them. They told MHC I was covered the whole month of March, grant it was retroactively and that I asked them to terminate April 1st. Not only that they denied refund again. The things they will do to keep money. Fact #1, I was not covered until March 19th. I called practically almost every day to find out my coverage status. I was told to pay out of my pocket until then and then they would reimburse. After all, I have thousands of dollars for that right. Emergency room for asthma attack, medicine, and counseling appointment. Definitely did not have, plus knowing Kaiser they would take months to reimburse and then skyrocket their prices so I would get less back.
Fact #2 their own contact who talked to me initially about the complaint denial admitted the grievance team did not have all the facts, like their reps giving wrong info and that Medi-Cal covered my emergency room visit earlier that month. Also, I had to cancel a counseling appointment due to no coverage. But, oh sorry they only review once and that is it. But if MHC finds in my favor they will refund. Not, they are fighting to keep the money and lying to do it. Also, their solution. They will talk to their reps. By the way to this day still give wrong info. That April 1st effective date, was their doing. They initially told me to not pay April and it would terminate on its own. Another lie by one of their reps. The day I got their denial in mid April, they told me I needed to write a letter to cancel and they were going to make it retroactive to April 1st out of courtesy.
The whole reason for their denial, I didn’t cancel the month prior. Which is impossible with COBRA, because paperwork does not get sent until month coverage ended by employer which would be March. Not only that because I had an emergency visit at the beginning of March, which I used Medi-Cal because I had no coverage with Kaiser at the time. If they don’t refund my money. I don’t know what to do next.
Reviewed April 18, 2018
I have had Kaiser for about 6 years now and have hated it. I thought it was the most cost affordable program but I just hate the system. You have to see your "primary" whose job is to do everything possible not to refer you to a specialist. I do not want to see a primary, pay my co-fee so I can maybe get a referral to the specialist I need to see. My primary is not an orthopedic physician so why do I have to see her?? Oh yeah it is to get as much money as possible and to "weed out" anyone who is just complaining. Then they attach co-fees to many of their procedures such as lab draws and x-rays. I am planning on switching next year since the Kaiser is more for catastrophic than anything else.
Reviewed April 17, 2018
We are Kaiser member. For 1st year we have to go see doctor total 4 times and twice they refused to give medicine and asked us to take home remedies like honey and hot water, hot water steam and some Aspirin. We told them that we have tried those and now coming to you we were refused to give prescriptions. Yesterday I was there with pollen allergy and same thing, no medicine prescribed, same answer take over the counter medicine, next day means today I am suffering. I have constant coughing, running nose, my whole throat hurts but no medicine. If they want to give medicine then give me my copay back.
Reviewed April 17, 2018
I am very conflicted about whether or not to stay with Kaiser Permanente. I love their physicians and their medical staff, but I abhor their billing process. Yesterday, I received an email stating that I owed $25. However, in the mail I received a refund check for $25 showing an overpayment. There was no indication as to what date of service each of these billing issues were for. The check only showed "Refund for cost share overpayment." When I called for clarification, the Kaiser billing representative couldn't even find the detailed information related to each.
After researching further, she finally told me that the check was for a hospital visit in November 2017 and that the request for payment was for a medical visit on 3/31/2018. I told her that my payment for 3/31/2018 was made at the time of service. She stated that the 3/31/2018 payment was applied to my visit on 3/5/2018. I explained that I received an emailed bill for the 3/5/2018 date of service and paid it online (with confirmation) on 3/28/2018. She indicated that the payment on 3/28/2018 was applied to a service date of 1/26/2018.
As I tried to make each payment correspond so I could confirm how much was due, she could not provide the necessary information. She said that she could only reference doctor visits; hospital and pharmacy records were separate. I requested a payment ledger dating back to December 2016 so that I could perform my own audit. In addition to these frustrating circumstances, I also receive a letter every month indicating a "past due" amount of $0.00 for my premiums (which are automatically debited from my account monthly).
Kaiser's billing methods are atrocious and are definitely NOT USER FRIENDLY! My mother and several other friends/family have left Kaiser previously due to their unclear billing. I am on the verge of doing the same. Their only saving grace at this point is their medical staff. Kaiser, I implore you to update your billing to allow each payment to be applied to the appropriate date of service.
Reviewed April 17, 2018
My problem isn’t with the doctors or customer service. It’s just the premiums. It makes me so mad every time I pay the bill, which I pay late every month just to spite them. It all started in July 2016. Previously was paying $179/month for a $40 copay plan, same plan for years. Then I get a letter saying they won’t offer my plan anymore. After all this hassle and jumping through hoops I finally “upgraded” to a $1000 deductible plan for $275/month. I was SO pissed. I hardly had any time to get over it because literally TWO months later I got a similar letter that my plan is no longer available. So again I “upgraded” to a, I think, $1800 deductible plan for $339/month. I am furious at this point. But I got over it, had kept the plan for about a year. Then 2 months ago I went to pay the premium and it is $443!! I hadn’t received a letter this time.
Turns out yet again, for the 3rd time in just over a year, my plan isn’t available, and I had been upgraded to a $2000 deductible plan. I don’t know if it’s like this with all insurance companies, but I am so disgusted with them at this point. I am 30 at the time of this writing. I don’t have existing or pre existing conditions. However I did have a drug problem and have been using the same doctor for recovery which is the only reason I haven’t punted Kaiser in the ** yet. I went from paying $179 a month, not having to pay for any lab tests or anything like that, not having a deductible, to now paying $443 a month, having to pay for all my lab tests, and having a deductible over my head, which even after the deductible is met I’m still responsible for like 30% of the costs. It’s so frustrating. And I’m locked in for the year. There’s nothing I can do about it. Because I didn’t get a notice I wasn’t given a chance to choose a lower priced plan.
I did get the notice in mail eventually, a month after they had already changed the plan. I see people on here saying Kaiser is cheap. Is that really true??? Am I doomed to paying this much for insurance for the rest of my life? It’s more than my car payment. It’s half the cost of my mortgage. I’m worried for the next time they try to do this. Is there no end? Screw Kaiser. Screw the unaffordable care act which caused this mess! And no I get no financial assistance because I’m a ** man with no kids and I make “enough”. This is the only place I have to vent. I don’t think anyone can even comment on this, I created the account just for this. I hope I’m not alone, but I also hope I am alone because this is ridiculous and I don’t wish this on other people.
Reviewed April 15, 2018
Preventive Care not covered - I switched to Kaiser this year and I now truly regret it. This is the only year that I have to pay for my annual checkup with same labs I have been done every year. It sounds ridiculous right? But it is true. I had my yearly checkup in Feb. My doctor didn't want to order CBC lab test, which may be covered fully for me at the appointment. She said that they don't do it with a healthy patient which I appear to be. She ordered a few other tests including urine sample. Later I found out that I have to pay 50% for each of the lab test. I questioned their billing and member services department, they just pointed to me to check out their guides on how I can estimate my costs/copays.
In the end, the member service rep told me, basically, all they cover completely is to get my blood pressure, take look at me to see if I look healthy, give me some recommendations, which is to become a vegetarian that my doctor mentioned to me, but lab orders are not consider part of it. Excuse me? I wish that I came to look at this list before I decided to switch to Kaiser. I agree with quite several other complaints here, they don't care about patients. They just want to take patients premium payment and try to do as little as they can to save money. I wish everyone is aware of what they are doing and stay away from wrong choice that I have made.
Reviewed April 13, 2018
I have never written a review anywhere prior to this. That's how bad this is. I used to have Premera and cannot believe I made such a terrible decision to switch. I should have realized that when the payer is also the provider you are going to get professionals who are more focused on saving money than providing care. Went for a physical. Didn't get blood work. Asked why and the GP said they don't usually see a reason to check blood work on people who appear healthy. Blew my mind, especially since I know I have high cholesterol. Asked him to do blood work and he ordered it, but I shouldn't have to ask. A couple theories here are that they want save money by not doing bloodwork, or even worse they don't want to discover something they then will have to treat.
Next issue is I hurt my back in the gym. Like a legit injury, either a herniated disc or potentially a torn ligament. We'll never know. He refused to do an MRI and said let's start with Physical therapy. Fair, I'll go that route. But they need to get the referral approved. 2 weeks later it was denied and I had to call the doctor back. He didn't understand why and made the referral again. Mind you my injury is untreated and far worse at this point.
Finally get into physical therapy, 2 weeks later nerve pain develops and my foot is now numb. I call the doctor. Refuses to do an MRI and says I need to see the spine specialist. They call to schedule, and it is 7 weeks out. Meanwhile my foot is numb and things seem to be getting worse. On my first visit he took an X-ray and noticed an 11mm object either in my Kidney or Gallbladder. Asked if we should take care of it and he says no. I ask why. He said it's not causing pain so no reason to deal with it.
Now I ask him shouldn't we at least figure out where it is? After some discussions he finally says, "Yeah. You're right. We should schedule an ultrasound. Because if it is in the kidney then we know at some point it will have to pass." Problem here is that I have a prior opiate addiction and cannot take pain meds. So waiting until I have severe pain and surgery is not an option for me. So I call back and say, "Hey. Can't we just blast it and I'll pass it without pain meds." He says, "Yes, that's a good idea. Let's do that."
So now I am my own doctor. It would appear that having the payer and provider under the same name is a severe conflict of interest. They seem to not want to provide services beyond the basics unless you really press them for it. I have their most expensive plan available on the individual market as well. Spend the extra money and get something else, Kaiser is not the place you want looking after your health. The actual doctors are nice but it would seem they are stuck between being providers and being loyal to their employer.
Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company Information
- Company Name:
- Kaiser Permanente
- Website:
- healthy.kaiserpermanente.org