What About Kaiser?

Personally - I have Kaiser (and PPO ins) and I love it. I have been lucky to find great doctors that work well for me. Just like in any docs office, you have some good docs and you have some bad ones. I've had it for over 15 years and wouldn't change.

I have had Kaiser for most of my life (around 35 years. I'm a frequent flyer for health conditions for myself and my son. Once in a while, I get a doc I don't like... but isn't that the way it is for all. Just got another one. I like it. My husband wishes he could go back on it (work changed plans to ppo). I wouldn't leave for anything.

I had Kaiser for 5 yrs when we lived in SoCal. I wish we could get in here in Reno! We loved Kaiser. Nice doctors and low cost.

I feel you. My Dh is in computers (contractor) We've been through so many changes in insurance I get dizzy sometimes. But in the past 9 years I haven't had insurance for 6 of them. $800 per month per person is just something we can't afford. Kiddo gets insurance, and we hold off another 6 months until the contract is over and we get a new stab at insurance.

In my experience (from several years ago) Kaiser is better than Group Death (Group Health), and not as good as Blue Cross or the VA (scary when two whole med groups are worse than the VA)... but as others have pointed out a LOT depends on the clinic you go to. We drove for 3 hours to go to a good clinic when we were on Kaiser. Right now my husband works for a company that has AMAZING insurance IF we lived on the east coast. Sigh. They cover 100% of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g and have thousands of doctors, ecery prestigious place on the east coast is a preferred provider.... the only problem is that they have less than 100 preferred providers (out of network we're responsible for 100% of payment) on the whole WEST COAST, and most of those are optometrists at WalMarts. Somehow, commuting to NY, Boston, DC., etc to see a doctor seems like an improbable commute. At least we know that we can though, in case of anything really dire like childhood leukemia.

The insurance in this country is a nightmare, and the millions of people who have no access to medical care at ALL, much less quality care is an embarrassment.

My family and I have had wonderful care with Kaiser!
But I have heard from others that they are not very good if you have major health problems.

I HATE Kaiser. I used to think it was wonderful growing up but I didn't know better. Sure it seems like one stop health care but they watch out for themselves. I do not have Kaiser anymore. My mom and her kids that are still young enough do. My sister had pink eye. She went to the doc got eye drops didn't work. Went back again same thing. In the mean time my kids got it. Took them to our doc, gave us the best eye drops, gone in 2 days. My sis still has it. She goes back and my mom asks for what my doc perscribed. They told her it was too expensive. My mom is like, but I have insurance coverage for it, I don't have to pay for it. But since kaiser docs perscribe meds through kaiser pharmacy under kaiser insurnace, they will sacrifice patient well being to save a buck. (these drops are $80 out of pocket w/o insurance coverage.)

My mom hurt her knee in May. It took her 3 weeks to get an appt w/ her doc so they went to urgent care. took an x ray and said to stay off it for 6 weeks. 6 weeks later went to follow up with her doc (had not gotten better at all). ordered an MRI. but it took 4 weeks to get that. Finally 3 months after injury she was scheduled for surgery. But she was not recovering well. At her 3 week follow up she had full range of motion so they said she did not need therapy. problem was she couldn't even walk. They told her they could give her pain meds and to work through it (treated symptom, not problem). Finally after 4 months she gets in for therapy. But her other knee was bad. So she had to start from square one with the other knee. eventually they scheduled her for surgery but she had to wait 2 months. She just had the second surgery.

It is difficult to get in to see your doc or even call them if you have a question with Kaiser. It takes my fam days to get an answer. Unless my doc is on vacay or something I can get in to see him in the time it takes to drive there.

We've had Kaiser (Panorama City) for over 20 years. Delivered 3 children there and don't have any major complaints. The pediatric department is excellent and my personal physician Dr. Saleh is awesome. Our pediatrician is Dr. Robert Allison and he works out of Mission Hills.
Good luck!

Kaiser is just about the top rated medical group (and it's non-profit) in the state of California. I have been a Kaiser member for about 40 years, and raised my children in Kaiser. My three adult children who are within the Kaiser area still belong to Kaiser. Now, even on Medicare, my husband and I have chosen Kaiser, and my elderly parents switched to Kaiser when they moved in with me.

I have had the same great Doctor at Kaiser for the last 25 years and I fully credit him with the fact that my breast cancer was found so early. Two of my children had serious health issues when young, and in both cases the treatment was excellent and life saving in one case, and saved my son's sight in the other case.

In all these years I have personally had only one negative experience with a Kaiser doctor, and the great thing about Kaiser is you can change your family doctor with NO notice and with no questions asked. Just ask for a different doctor. No waiting period.

In Southern California Kaiser now has a really great system where you can go on the internet to make your appointments, email your Doctor, etc. My husband went in for blood work on Friday, and before the end of the day, the complete results were there on the website for him to read, with explanations of everything.

Of course there are isolated problems with Kaiser just as there are with any system. However, Kaiser did not get its excellent health outcomes as a fluke. Pay attention, choose your doctor carefully, change until you find one your like, and you will get excellent preventative care that will be coordinated, in up to date facilities.

Hi- I A. a teacher, mother of one boy 19 mo.
My whole family is on Kaiser and we have had nothing but wonderful care!
I've had two surgeries and gave birth (at polomar) and it went smooth and easy.
The only issue is if you need to see a specialist, you have to get a referal, but if you email your doctor, they can do it in a few days.

I love Kaiser. I have 2 little boys, 1 year old and a 5 year old. I work full time so I have my benefits through my job. We had Blue Cross for a very long time. My oldest was born while we had Blue Cross and was born with hydrocephalus. The healthcare that I got for my son was optimal through Blue Cross. In September of 2008 our healthcare was changed to Kaiser. I was devastated because I just had our second baby and all the medical attention my older son was going to be lost so I thought. Well we have had Kaiser and it has been great. My sons doctors have been very attentive and they have helped me with every concern. I did always have trouble getting "approvals" to see specialists with my other insurance but with Kaiser its one stop, I need an xray, they do it right then and there. I guess everybody has an opinion about everything and your relatives have every right to say that but I certainly do think they are wrong. My oldest has a variety of issues and Kaiser Sunset has been exceptional in getting everything I need for him and my youngest.

To me, you are asking about the quality of the Kaiser Doctors. The Kaiser "Doctors" vary per each location/region. Each Kaiser has its different Doctors at each site.

So, try and research the Kaiser Doctors... in your area.
Many people say that (like your Mom and Aunt) about Kaiser Doctors... due to experiences they had there with the Doctors. Versus, with the Insurance plan itself.

So, research each aspect- the Doctors/hospital and the insurance plan/costs.

You can also research each individual Doctors, online, like at www.healthgrades.com for example.

Good luck,
Susan

I love, love, love Kaiser. The doctors there (our 1 year old and 2 year olds' pediatrician, my husband and my primary care physician, my OB who delivered both our kids, etc.) have been AMAZING. They each have provided us with truly personal care, and remember us every time we go in and follow up with previous issues, etc. I don't feel like we're just another patient amongst thousands. My OB/GYN would even call me on my cell phone to check in during my pregnancies after complications to see how everything was going, etc. Not only that, but Kaiser is very proactive, providing an immense amount of resources to their members and not hesitating to refer you out to specialists if there's an issue. Case in point, I recently had a lump in my breast, and I was immediately scheduled to go to the Breast Clinic, then they sent me to get a mammogram and ultrasound, and even though those results still yielded nothing, they sent me back to the Breast Clinic to have a needle biopsy done just to be on the safe side (and I'm only 33, usually not an age range HMOs would consider high risk enough to do so much follow up). Thankfully it was nothing, but just knowing that they wanted to exhaust every possibility to ensure that my health was taken care of was so reassuring and has assured my loyalty to Kaiser.

My mother WAS with Kaiser and we had nothing but horrible experiences with the system and the individual doctors. You can pm me if you want any details.
My husband is a firefighter and he and the guys refer to Kaiser as "Killer Kaiser" based on what they've seen behind the scenes and in the ER...
I'm sure there are good experiences as well, but the number one comment I hear about Kaiser is that it's great, as long as you are not sick.

I went from an AMAZING blue cross plan to Kaiser after my husband switched jobs and his new jobs H.I. is over 700 a month out of pocket!! (insane!)

I had also heard horror stories about Kaiser, but to be honest, I have had great experiences so far. We have been with Kaiser now about 14 months. I love my daughters pediatrician, at the Glendale office. I also like the Glendale office a lot, it feels much more small practice then I expected to get with Kaiser.

Keep in mind that each plan is super different in what they offer, and their monthly payments go up every year... which we just found out about. We have the $1500 deductible plan b/c it offered the best amount of care, (30$ co-pays rather than 50), and seemed to be the best fit for our family. Now that I A. preggo again, I A. wishing I wasnt going to have to out of pocket 1500 to have the kid... but, its STILL cheaper then if we had gone through my husbands work.

I have worked with a really great lady there (oh and some HORRIBLE ones too) over the phone, feel free to PM me and I will email you her direct number. I find things to work so much better when the people you are talking to are actually nice and know what they are doing. (I have run into tons in any insurance company that are clueless!)

I like Kaiser because they are very procedure oriented and get things done. I don't have to wait for my doctor for as long and I can get advice via email sometimes.

I had Kaiser insurance my whole life - never had a problem. Always had good doctors. A friend of mine has Kaiser now, and she doesn't have problems either. There are definitely some good doctors there.

Hi A. C,

This is our second time with Kaiser. We had it with our first child (now 11) had great prenatal care loved it, until our hospital experience (Anaheim hospital) then hated it. We switched when we could during open enrollment from my husbands employer. Then my husbands employer switched plans, and Kaiser was the only one we could afford, so reluctantly we had to go back. Now we have had great care and love it again. It is so nice to get all your needs met under one building (x-rays, bloodwork, perscriptions,etc...) We use the Mission Viejo office and love it! Good Luck

We used to be with Kaiser. Put it this way, if my children had a life-threatening emergency or needed surgery, I would WAY rather them be at Children's hospital than Kaiser. The best doctors are at Children's. I've heard from other people that the best doctors are NOT at Kaiser. I had one of my babies at Kaiser and one at Mary Birch (San Diego) and loved Mary Birch much better - it was almost like a private room, where at Kaiser it was only a curtain dividing me from another mom who just had a baby too.

Hi A.,

Kaiser has its good and bad points. We love our pediatrician, she's great with our daughter and listens to our concerns. I love my ob-gyn. One thing I don't like is that sometimes it's hard to get an appointment. During my pregnancy I had a couple of problems and was admitted to the Lakeview hospital. The nurses were great and they let my husband stay with me. There are some wonderful doctors/nurses at Kaiser.

Hello, I was doubtful about liking Kaiser when we first joined. It took me several pediatricians to find that I liked my general practice doctor there and switch my children to him. However, when we took custody of our now ten year old grandson, we found that if you are persistant, you can find a great pediatrician. I now have cardiac issues as well as a bone disease which is related to my thyroid disease (yes, I A. a mess) and I have found that when you get into the specialized medicine there, it is great.
Good luck with this decision.
K. K.

I had a horrible experience with kaiser. the doctors sucked, my prenatal care was ridiculous and the birth experience i have with them? i'd rather forget. i was at the La Cienega hospital.

Both of my parents are members of Kaiser, and I was when I was in college.

Their whole basis, as an HMO, is to keep costs down as much as possible. You lose a lot of freedom when you join an HMO. Usually, you have to see your Primary Care Provider before you can see any Specialist (to which PCP has to refer you).

You also have a strict drug formulary. A formulary is a list of drugs you can access according to the plan. All companies have these, but HMOs are known to be much more restrictive.

Here's an example: I used to sell a diabetes medication that my mom took for 6 months before she switched to Kaiser. Her new doctor there told her it hadn't been approved by the FDA yet and she couldn't have it. It was completely false.

They don't have bad doctors, but they usually can't practice medicine freely and have to follow algorithms (step-by-step guidelines) for how to treat conditions.

It's better than nothing, but I wouldn't make it my first choice either.

it is better than having nothing at all. I was born at kaiser in 1960. my son was born there in 1980. it was all fine & dandy but when the babies are born, you get the doc on duty...not the person who seen you throughout your pregnancy. I had my tonsils out there at 24. I had my tubes tied there. hospital care is about as good as any other. my kids went to a great pediatrician...he was my best experience with Kaiser. I A. more than certain he is no longer there since he was olllllld when my kids went there. there was a time however when i was given a med i should not have had & was taken off of it by another doc there. My inlaws were a longshoreman family & also had Kaiser. They saved my father-in-laws life but I also hear tons of unsatisfied stories from my mother-in-law but she continues to go. I have not been for years but I will say the commercials they put out, "THRIVE" are very encouraging & have a lot of wisdom & great ideas in them. I would go if it were my only option.

I grew up on Kaiser. I liked the convenience of everything all in one place and having 24 hr. advice nurses. (I always saw the same dr. you CAN do that with Kaiser). But I was a kid/teen and young adult so what did I know. I had heard everyone LOATHED kaiser. I then became a teacher and chose to not have Kaiser. Wanted to try something new. Bottomline I wasn't WOW'D by having a PPO. Then I got married, decided to try to get pregnant but that didn't happen as fast as we thought. So during open enrollment I switched back to Kaiser for the convenience of it all--fertility etc. Not to mention the cost. Back then (2002) Kaiser was very reasonable, now it is NOT. Fertility treatment was virtually free, my OBGYN appts. were as well. I was content at Kaiser, and loved that the pharmacy was in house! Well, fast forward 6 years and a new town/job. We have a PPO now and it is quite the headache, not to mention a fricking arm and a leg!!! I now recieve bills and EOB's and have to keep track of it all. Insurance laggs to pay...constantly. It seems their skills at data entry suck!!! Somewhere along the line someone got my member ID number wrong. We are actually fighting a bad credit mark on my husbands credit due to Anthem and our local hospital screwing EVERYTHING up and this is not the first time they have done so. Sending us bills to an address we have never lived at nowhere near us, calling us on a phone # we have never had. Yet we are the ones paying the price for their mistake. They took 2 years to pay for my twins Synagis vaccinations, 2 years to pay for their circumcisions and a year to pay for the surgeon portion of my sons stitches. That's right, they paid the supplies portion but somehow got something wrong and didn't pay the doctor for her service to perform the stitches, go figure. I dont know much more than my experience. What I do know is that health care is a mess and until peoples health stops becoming a multi-billion dollar industry we will see no change. I understand someone like Kaiser may be watching out for themselves and trying to save a buck, but for me Kaiser was a much simpler way for me to manage my health care.

I have Kaiser and so does my husband and son. I have had no problems with them. This is the first time that I had had Kaiser and I have been with them almost a year. My husband has had Kaiser for Years (not sure how long) and my son is 2 1/2-so he has had them for 2 1/2 years. The benefit of them is that you do can go to any doctor that you like. If you choose a doctor and you don't like them you can change. You can go to any Kaiser facility. They have night and weekend availability. If you need to get some quotes on pricing I can help you with that. My husband works for an Insurance broker. We would not be making any money off of this, I A. just throwing that to be helpful.

I used to feel the same way about Kaiser. I had their insurance more than 10 years ago. But I recently switched from ppo to kaiser in october. I have been pleasantly surprised. I hardly wait for my appointments and they are very thorough and super friendly. I say try them, you'll be quite surprised!

I think Kaiser is not bad for a single and healthy person looking for preventative wellness, like yearly check-ups, etc. I've only had Kaiser while I was single, never married with no children and in good health so I couldn't tell you what the care is like for someone with a family or looking to start one. I don't always hear positive things about Kaiser, especially for someone who needs frequent care. I've known a few people who are with Kaiser and not too much complaints but personally, I prefer to see just one doctor but that's just me...

I've had Kaiser for most of my 52 years. I love it. I've had surgery and two kids with C-sections. Both my husband and I take various meds. I've taken my son to the mental health clinic and they've helped him. Most of the doctors and personnel are polite, caring and competent. Everything is in the same place (pharmacies, labs, doctors, specialists).

Most regular HMO's have an incentive to not treat patients because they get the same rate whether they see you once a year or once a day. Kaiser doctors don't operate that way. I've never had a problem with any treatment. We've had doctors call us at home (and in the evening) to follow up or to answer questions. Urgent care for evenings and weekends is wonderful to have available too.

My parents have been on Kaiser for the same amount of time and wouldn't switch. My father has received excellent care and treatment for several cancers, emphazima, dementia, surgeries, macular degeneration, and I don't remember what else. He passed away last year.

We pay for our own medical insurance as a small (my husband and I) business. It's not cheap, about $600 a month, but well worth it. Our meds alone would run close to that without insurance. There is no way we would change to any other health insurance. Kaiser is very customer service oriented and responds quickly and appropriately to any complaints. Can't ask for more.

Each facility has a different atmosphere so look at which one you'd like. They now have a computerized system so any Kaiser doctor at any facility can see your medical history. That's really helpful if you're away from home or switch facilities. We've been going to the Woodland Hills hospital for the last 15 years. If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.

I'm with Kaiser as is my son and I have no complaints about the doctors. It's a little frustrating dealing with the bureocracy of getting an appointment, speaking to a doctor, etc but as far as the doctors themselves are concerned, the bad reputation is not earned.

We've had excellent experiences at Kaiser, from our typical visits to pneumonia and heart surgery. My parents have been with Kaiser for 40 years. At this point, my mother receives hospice care from Kaiser that has been fantastic. My father had open heart surgery almost 10 years ago and is going strong. We weren't thrilled with the intensive care for the first 48 hours, but they have made changes since then. Our kids were among the first of their peers to have available to them the H1N1 vaccine. Our friends were calling their pediatricians weekly asking for it and our kids got it almost as soon as it was released! (No complications, side effects or flu.) Yes, there are lines in the pharmacy, but we get most meds through the mail. When I was concerned about my father, I emailed his doctor and his doctor phoned him within about an hour! We really have had no complaints. I A. always impressed with how our pediatrician knows about recent research, shares his knowledge with me... we're happy! E.

We had Kaiser for several years and never had any big problems. What we liked is that the doctors are all interconnected and one doctor can refer to another's doctors notes, etc. so the care is really coordinated.

I had my daughter with Kaiser and was ok with the experience except for a few instances that were not ideal (they left part of the placenta inside me leading me to bleed for months afterward, I hemorraged and lost a pint of blood, they hooked the IV up to me after birth and missed the vein and my body bloated up with water -- hello!). I did find their lactation consultants absolutely wonderful, however.

What made us leave the plan, however, was a very scary situation with my younger brother's care there. I won't go into the detailed story, but Kaiser doctors were not experienced enough -- or were trying to save money -- by not giving him the care he needed pronto. He almost died while in the Anaheim hospital. He was transferred to Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles and their extraordinary care -- and several life and death surgeries later -- saved his life. He was probably in the hospital for two months total. It was an incredibly frightening experience for our whole family and after that we dropped that insurance like a hot cake.

I know that mistakes happen in almost every hospital around the world, but when doctors don't have the knowledge to treat you, or are trying to save money due to protocol, that's very scary. I've heard people say that Kaiser is great for preventative care, but don't have any life or death illnesses while under their care. I would have to agree with that.

That's just my and my family's experience. Good luck.

Generally, HMO's are not favorable. Many doctors wont accept and you may have to wait a lot longer get a referal for an appropriate doctor.
It's too much of a business...

I LOVE Kaiser. Have never had an issue, they have great Dr's and nurses, nice facilities and are always very friendly. I never have to wait long and my kids are always treated very well.

Hey there. Just like most of the posts, you either love Kaiser or hate it. For some reason there is no in between. I had Kaiser for years and loved it. Everything is right there in one spot. I had a great Dr. and my kids had a great Dr. I had one of my babies there and it was a great experience. I have another insurance now and it's okay too. The only thing is with Kaiser, you go there for everything so there is no confusion. With other healthplans, you go to the dr you chose but then they send you here for this, and another place for that. They were many times I had billing issues because the providers sent me to the wrong place, or I didn't know where to go so I went to the wrong place. I was getting bills saying I owed money went I didn't. So that is a headache to try and clear all that up. I like Kaiser because you don't have to worry about all that. And they have a good good online system now where you can look up your lab results and make appts and some other cool stuff. Good luck with you choice. :) I hope it works out in your favor and you love your choice.

Our family has been with Kaiser for 35 years. Had the same OB-GYN for all 3 kids (now young adults) and same Pediatrician whom we loved. If you learn to use the system (be sure to ask the NAME of each person you speak with and WRITE it down)it is great. Ask to change Dr. if you don't "jell" with the one you are given. Castotrophic care is unbelievable, as is their old age care (which you don't care about now, but it will become more valuable sooner than you think).More and more excellent Dr.s are joining KP due to high med insurance and overhead in private practice.The caliber of KP Dr.s is excellent!

Love Kaiser, been with them for 16+ years. We have a small business & as older parents, our monthly premuim is pretty high--currently $700 a month, with a $1500 deductible per person for treatment & $250.00 deductible for non-genenric meds & a $30 co-pay--but when I researched switching carriers, I found that it would be even higher with the PPOs & that was only if they would take us with our various pre-existing conditions. I was actually relieved that I wouldn't have to switch everything, as I really like everyone we deal with. And the fact that everything is in the one place, saves a lot of hassle.

The trick to Kaiser is finding the drs that work well with you & treating everyone with respect. Which should go without saying, but I have a friend who has been a Kaiser receptionist for 25+ years & she says that more people are rude than not. The old saying about Honey is so true. I love our various drs & staff & feel like they really care & work for our best interests.

We've had several medical incidents--infertility, 3 live births, a child with unexplained seizures, a horrendous miscarriage, a threaten tween suicide, 3 surgeries, breast lumps, severe ear infections, pneumonia & that's just what I'm remembering right now--that Kaiser has helped us through & they have ALWAYS bent over backward to make sure everything was done right, professionally & with care. When my oldest daughter was having some really hard emotional issues last spring, her Psychiatrist, who has 3 kids also, spent her weekend reviewing my daughter's file, trying to see if she missed anything & to come up with a treatment plan. And my daughter's peditrican called me to see how she was doing when she read that she was in the hospital. Kaiser is like any other work place, full of good & bad people. The trick is to find & keep the wonderful caring ones. And based on my experience, I would say there are more wonderful, caring staff at Kaiser than not. Good Luck with your decision.

My experience with Kaiser is fantastic. I was on Kasier for over 30 years and loved it. I would still be there except that my husband's new job doesn't have it. I had both my kids there and the OB/GYN's were great. The doctors there were top rate. In fact I would probably not be here now if not for Kaiser. I had a mamagram 6 years ago and they found a small abnormal item and I went for further tests and it ended up being the begining of breast cancer. If not for them I would not have found it early and had it taken care of before it spread. I will always love Kaiser for that reason. Also I like how everything is in one place. Now I have to take kids to an eye doctor, different lab for tests and back to doc office. I miss Kaiser very much.

I grew up w/ kaiser. now I have PPO insurance and it would be hard to go back. but, you do what you gotta do. if it is what you can afford. The bad thing I remember about kaiser is having to wait months for an eye dr appt. I have no idea if that has changed. But, HMOs have specialist waits too. one great thing about kaiser is the after hrs clinics.

I think for an adult it is fine because we can better identify what we are feeling and what we think is wrong. However, for a child with limited expression...not a good idea. However, it IS much cheaper and things are covered unlike a PPO. For example. I had Kaiser and the one time I ever used it I had to be in the hospital for 3 days and have surgery. You can imagine what that would have cost... I paid $200 out of pocket. For my birth and delivery I paid $500. Again, a major bill with hospital charges and what not.
I went to the ER on a PPO... the original bill was $800 (roughly) and I had to pay $650 of it out of pocket! I now choose to not even carry insurance for myself because I had paid more in premiums for the PPO than the cost of the insurance .So I put aside what i would have paid in premium in my "Oops my leg fell off" fund :)

for an HMO, I think kaiser is the best. we used to have it and then my hubby changed jobs. i totally miss it. you don't really have to wait for referrals because it is all within the same network and everything is done on computers now, so every doctor has info to your health and they can see the whole picture. you just have to find who works best for you. it is not hard to switch doctors. you may want to write the ?, which kaiser doctors do people like.

I'm fine with Kaiser, but then I've never had anything else. My mom works at Kaiser, so I tend to know which doctors are better than others, in terms of patient care, etc. Kaiser Riverside and Corona have some great Drs and Physician Assts. We also have a handful of great pediatricians. But you HAVE to be your own advocate!

I just recently went in for a pregnancy that ended up spontaneously aborting. This whole thing took place over a week and 4 visits. I never once talked to or saw the same doctor or nurse, so I made sure that the minute the dr/nurse came into the exam room, I explained what had happened to me, and at each previous visit and with each called advice nurse. This way, I would be sure he gets the whole picture instead of just what's in the notes (which can be spotty at times). And I ended up getting great care and found that Drs respond best when you give them as much information as possible. That being said, each Dr/nurse treated me with warmth, even those who didn't know my mom. :-)

I've had Kaiser since I was a kid and only had something else for a little while when we first got married. I wouldn't trade our children's pediatrician for ANYTHING! She's AWESOME and she's with Kaiser Woodland Hills. No matter where you go, you will have to wait in the emergency room so not sure what they wouldn't want to go to Kaiser. Most of the time, we've had good experiences with Kaiser.

i was with kaiser for 30 years and my parent's still are. the only reason i A. not now is because my new job didn't offer it. i A. trying to go back to it now. they had plenty of problems when i was growing up and going there but things had improved tremendously! i have a chronic condition and they have been great about it. i just hope we can get back in (myself and son have pre-existing conditions) so we will see. trying out doctors is important and they have some great perks as far as online access to your info, appointments and perceptions (mailed right to your house and cheaper that way then if you go and pick them up!) Good Luck! health insurance is a nightmare all over.

I had Kaiser for about 3 years... during the birth of my son and for the first 2 years of his life. I had really good experiences with most of the process.

Of course you are going to run into grumpy employees and poor doctors. Any program is going to be like that. But they make it pretty easy to switch doctors when that happens. I didn't like my son's first ped so I switched and found a fantastic one. I also had referrals to dermatology with great success and loved the nurses help line.

I've had other insurances since then and no insurance now... I miss Kaiser. I liked it.

Good luck!
~A.

I have been with kaiser from birth till about last year when my employer switched insurance to sharp. I personally have not ha an issue with them but I have heard a few horror stories and seen two bad turnouts. First, my boyfriend broke his arm a year ago and they put a metal plate in his arm. I guess it was a good idea but he can't join the coaatguard, and his arm starts hurting a lot when its cold. I don't think that is supposed to be that way. He has to get it removed now and I don't know how much worse the healing process will be for that. Second story, my father broke his leg and I took him to emergency. They didn't have any wheelchairs that he could put his leg up while we waited. He got a wheelchair himself and used his crutch (brought from home) and sat on it while putting the end of it up for his leg to rest and be elevated. An hour and a half went by and then finally a nurse said it was our turn. We still never got a wheelchair with leg supports. My dad was in so much pain from holding that crutch for his leg. Like I said, I have never had a problem and I had my first son with kaiser and now that I'm pregnant again I will have a new facility to have this one in with sharp. Good luck.

Personally I love Kaiser! I A. so happy with them and would be very upset if I had to switch. The key is finding the right doctors. I've had a few that I was very unhappy with, however it was very easy to switch to another one.
I've had 1 child while covered under Kaiser and received great prenatal, delivery and then pediatric care for my daughter. Her pediatrician is amazing!!! I wouldn't trade him for anything. I'm pregnant with #2 now and have a great doctor. Just today they called me to remind me that I only had a few days left to get some required blood work done.
I also have a fairly significant medical condition and A. under the care of a few specialists and I have to say my health has improved so much under the care of one of my doctors because I feel that she is so well trained and has great resources that I've never been given the option for before.
I have also heard of "horror" stories, however thankfully other than a few doctors I've been very unhappy with, I have been more than happy! (And as I said, it was really easy to switch to a new doctor).