Kaiser Permanente

I've had Kaiser as my insurance for three years now. The first two years were good. Professional doctors and good coverage. Then the third year hit. My husband and I were going through some health issues that required help outside of KP. KP referred us to the clinic we needed to go through and after that everything went downhill. There has been so many horrible experience I don't know where to start... 1) The worst part of the whole experience has been trying to get test results back. The ordering doctor (outside of KP) is not getting any of the tests results he ordered. So I, the patient am having to call KP, check the app multiple times a day, and go as far as to e-mail my husband's urologist and have him send me the results via IM which I then screenshot and send to the ordering doctor. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS that the patient is having to do all of this. They didn't even call to give us the test results! 2) Every time I call KP I am transferred 2-3 times after an original HOUR WAIT. Then, once someone finally picks up I have had to re-explain our circumstances to each person who picks up the phone. Everytime I have to call KP it is guaranteed to be a lesson in frustration. 3) The coverage plan for anything OUTSIDE the KP buildings is horrible. Meaning 0 coverage. I am so disappointed in KP. I pay a lot of money out of every check and don't appreciate the rudeness, lack of empathy, and overall absolutely horrible customer service. I will NOT be choosing KP for my healthcare again in November and HIGHLY, HIGHLY encourage anyone that has a health issue more than routine medical care to NOT choose KP as their health insurance.

Kaiser does not want to help their patients. Kaiser will send you home or tell you to take care of yourself and might tall you to take any over the counter medicine so that they don't have to supply the medicine for you. They do not respect or take your wellbeing into any consideration. They treated me like nothing, I have so many bad experiences with then it's too much too list all. I wish it was easier to change coverage, I wish there was more help for consumers to fight against big medical companies like Kaiser, I feel that during this pandemic, Kaiser must be affiliated with the President's campaign or they absolutely subscribe to his agenda and they are avoiding testing their patients so that the real number of infections is not revealed. They act as if they want everyone in your home or surroundings to be gravely I'll or I'm not sure what it would take for then to offer real care. I am so upset and discouraged by Kaiser, I have never felt so helpless and in need.

I can only speak for Kaiser Permanente in Boulder & Denver Colorado. My experience is related exclusively to back issues and pain. If you have back issues as a result of an injury, do yourself a favor and do not sign up for Kaiser. Their approach to patient care is poor as best. You will have to spend your time fighting the system to get the correct diagnosis. The doctors will not listen to you or your injury concerns. The physical therapy department in Boulder, CO is really horrible. One of the worst I have ever been to. You will waste precious hours trying to find a practitioner that will listen to your concerns. As a patient, I have been dismissed in many occasions. No answers. No rehabilitation suggestions. Nothing. Just literature on how to live your life in chronic pain. I have had experience with their physiatrists and physical therapists. If you are in the Boulder/Denver area, consider Pace West Physical Therapy. Basically, given how precious time is, stay away from Kaiser Permanente. Spine West in Boulder, CO is also really good. Don't waste your time navigating the system at Kaiser Permanente.

We've been with Kaiser for several years and have been generally satisfied with the service until now. Our family member was having some health problems that required medical attention, so we called his Kaiser doctor for medical advice/set up an appointment. We were told that because the insurance plan does not start until February 1, they could not help us THOUGH WE'VE BEEN WITH KAISER FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND THE PLAN LAPSED ONLY A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. We asked if we could speak with our primary care provider over the phone. Again, they said we would have to wait until February 1 to speak to the family doctor.  Our family member is an elderly patient with a history of stroke and a heart condition. We told the Kaiser representative (and later, member services) that we would like to speak with the primary care provider earlier than February 1 given the patient's medical history. The representative then connected us to member services to see if member services could expedite the activation (again, as a reminder, we had been Kaiser members for several years. Had it not been for Kaiser cancelling the plan, we would not even be in this situation), who repeated the same canned spiel about the February 1 start date. Did not seem to care one bit about the patient's health situation and circumstance, not to mention our concerns. At this point, we're exasperated --- it's stressful enough worrying about a family member's health, but add the administrative regs on top of it --- so then we ask then what our options are. Member services says we can go see another doctor outside of Kaiser --- to clarify, this would mean FINDING A NEW DOCTOR OUTSIDE OF THE KAISER NETWORK (calling various providers, asking for availability and whether they would take new patients, etc.) WHEN IN FACT THE KAISER PRIMARY PROVIDER HAS/KNOWS ALL OF THE PATIENTS MEDICAL HISTORY. Efficiency here? We pointed out the great inconvenience and really, utter lack of common sense in the member services rep's recommendation. We pressed on the urgency of the health issue. All we needed was one call with the primary care provider, but Kaiser, due to some strict and unproductive set of regulations, would not budge. At this point, there was no utility in continuing the conversation. So point-blank, we asked member services, "So do you expect the patient to just drop dead after waiting until February 1?" After a few seconds, they said they would talk to someone, put us on hold for at least several minutes (perhaps longer), and later, the line was disconnected so we did not even get to hear what they had to say. Had we been brand new members to Kaiser, it would be another story. But we have been dealing with Kaiser network for several years, and the patient has already established a lengthy medical record within Kaiser. On top of that, the patient has a medical history. So for Kaiser to refuse to accommodate and leave the patient with no choice but to either WAIT OUT THE SICKNESS until February 1, or see another doctor outside the network, to us, seemed counterproductive and not at all sympathetic or cognizant of the role and mission of providing medical care to sick patients. Apathy, laziness, and the "we don't really care because we're following regs and it's not our fault if the patient is unable to receive the proper medical care in due time" puts the interests of the corporation and bureaucracy first before patient care. I would also add that Kaiser still employs a doctor who has received dismal reviews from multiple patients for her incompetence, condescension, and laziness. Our family member had initially received medical care from Dr. Yu Sung K, but switched doctors as Ms. K always returned our calls several weeks late (with no apologies, just orders for the patient to take XYZ medication, to set up an appt, etc.), talked over the patient, and was overall an inattentive, poor medical "expert" who really should reconsider why she's in the field to begin with. If you look up her name, you might still be able to see some of the bad reviews from previous/current patients. Pure disappointment. We are most likely going to cancel or switch out of Kaiser, thanks to our stressful and frustrating experiences with the facility, the providers, and member services.

I Have been with Kaiser several years and have been somewhat satisfied with them. Recently I have had an umbilical hernia. I have been to two different doctors and was told that because I was a smoker that they would not do the surgery. At my last visit with Doctor Kim, I was told that if I quit smoking that day he would schedule the surgery in one month. Before surgery I would have to take a UA to make sure I was nicotine free, if not he would not do the surgery. When I asked him about someone that was a drug addict or alcoholic, he said they would also need a UA. He also said that anyone that was over weight would have to lose weight before they would do surgery. I told Doctor Kim that I would just wait and go to the emergency when it ruptured and he said they would just push it back in and send me home, really? When I complained to Kaiser, I received a letter and a phone call from them telling me they would look into it and get back to me. I still haven't heard a word. Don't waste your time with Kaiser.

Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance here in Northern Colorado is absolutely the worst you can have. After signing up you'll find Kaiser doesn't have enough physicians to care for you. As a result, you can expect to be forced to drive as far away as 90 miles just to see your PCP! The same or worse applies to specialists! Know this, despite having a major medical center here in Fort Collins as well as a Banner Medical CEnter & Hospital which is the affiliate of Kaiser, The Poudre Valley Fire Department and all the EMTs frequently refuse to take a patient in crisis to Kaiser/Banner because they are completely incapable of treating a major medical event. Does that make you feel good when your life hangs in the balance and the health insurance you bought from Kaiser Permanente is comprised of physicians some 90 miles away or simply doesn't have the necessary medical skills or equipment to save your life? Think about folks, think long and hard.

Richard, MY Love, Had a stroke a little over 2 weeks ago. We are both Kaiser Permanente customers. No rheab today or tomorrow as the center works with patients only on weekdays. It is time to call Kaiser to task. Richard is getting 1. Phisycal therapy, 2. Occupational therapy and 3. speech therapy. Kaiser denied him Accute Rehab because Kaiser said he didn't qualify by needing 3 types of therapy. It seems they don't know how to count anything but $$$$. All three of his KAISER doctors said he was a PRIME candidate for ACCUTE rehab ( 3 hours per day 7 days per week). Kaiser had a peer confrence with his dr. and still denied him the care he required to REGAIN his quality of life. He is getting about 2.5 hours of therapy 5 days per week. KAISER took over a week to do their process at which time Richard got minimal therapy. I am told that first week of therapy is the most important. Kaiser advertises THRIVE But their real ads should be "If it costs more than we want to pay GO DIE". Each time I see their ads I want to vomit. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR FRIENDS WHO MAY HAVE KAISER OR MAY BE LOOKING FOR COVERAGE.

Kaiser has a very limited network of providers. The providers they do have thus far have demonstrated little compassion and limited understanding of chronic conditions. I've been denied care because the only care for me is "outside their network. I've ended up paying ALL my care plus paying my Kaiser premiums as well. Very costly choice being on a Kaiser plan.

You need Prior Auth for just about everything that you need. I got a referral for massage from my primary care provider, and they approved me to see a massage therapist that performed accupuncture on me! What a violation. I didn't want to go to that provider so I went to a different massage therapist. Now they are not covering the claims, and I tried to appeal, but it was denied because they said my massage therapist didn't get prior auth before performing the services. I was in a lot of pain and needed treatment right away. It's like they prefer you to be on drugs, which will probably be covered faster, than getting alternative therapy.

Do not join Kaiser if you are in pain. I am allergic to the non opiate medication uses. I have a condition, caused by Kaiser, that causes my blood pressure to spike when I am active. This has resulted in me fainting and 1) breaking my finger 2) cutting my head, 3) injuring my knee, 4) blacking out, 5)going into hypertensive crisis. Kaiser feels this is better for my health than prescribing me 4 mg of dilaudid, which they did for 6 1/2 years before they changed their policy to only prescribe opiates to cancer patients

Depends on location. The Catillac Urgent care location care is Terrible. I was told by one doctor his job was to give me a little something until I could seem my primary care physician. Trying get a appt. with primary physician takes a couple of months. Kaiser website. trying cancel an appt is not possible. you have to call appt line.(not open on weekend). Finally using option to primary physician , does not work. If I get a response, it is never from doctor. And their answer is go to urgent care.

Prescribed a high blood pressure meds that deplete potassium without telling me to take potassium tablets. When my potassium got so low that I fainted AND CRACKED MY HEAD OPEN they forgot to tell me I had a concussion. Later my primary care physician emailed me to ask if they had given me the concussion conversation. NO! I wasn’t supposed to be watching tv, reading, playing on my phone or computer. My mind was supposed to be resting. Gee thanks for not warning me! Yesterday I went to urgent care for ex rays to see if I fractured my humerus. After many ex rays the urgent care doctor gave me an emergency referral to orthopedics without telling me what he saw in the ex rays. A nurse felt sorry for me and slipped me a sling and said something about having a fracture. I called my emergency referral number first thing this morning. There wasn’t a single doctor at any location who could see me today. I leave tomorrow morning for 5 weeks. NO ONE WILL TELL ME HOW TO TREAT THIS UNTIL I GET BACK IN MID OCTOBER!!!! I have never seen such incompetence in my life!!!! I can’t wait to get Medicare next year and switch to Scripps!

For 20 years I was a Kaiser client and rarely went there before I had kidney stones. A year ago, due to the incompetence of the attending physician and an erroneous diagnosis, I lost one kidney. Over the past year, I have had several operations. Now I have a firm belief that Kaiser is overwhelmingly losers and doctors from other countries who have received their diplomas based on the standards of backward educational institutions. Kaiser is 90% of hypocrites covering each other. Kaiser will offer you a flu vaccine every day, but you will never have an expensive operation. Instead, Kaiser will conduct hundreds of cheap tests and prescribe cheap drugs that will cost him nothing and will never do what is good for your health, but will be costly for Kaiser. If you value your health, run away from Kaiser before it's too late!

Kaiser Permanente doctors are good, but the overall administration and availability of doctors is a disappointment. Overall I think they have more patients and less doctors in the specialty departments. Most surgery's are done as out patient surgery and to get a surgery appointment look out at least 4 weeks in schedule. They have doctors jammed up in their schedule. If this was not the cheapest option available, we would have never opted for it.

First of all- I would like to express my upset and concern that I have now heard from TWO of your doctors that breast exams are not included in Preventative Health Checks. That is outrageous. Breast health is an important part of a women's overall health. I expect the general public does not know that KP does not think so. Secondly- I went into the clinic to see a new primary care doctor, and SPECIFICALLY ASKED for a breast exam at my appointment, which was my yearly preventative health check up. I told her I was experiencing pain and was concerned. She told me that KP doesn't bother to do breast exams anymore, as they turn up nothing. I told her that my friend just had a lump found in an exam (not at your clinic, clearly) and it was cancer (her reply was "well now I feel stupid"). Dr B did not perform and exam as I requested, nor did she order an exam (physical, mammogram, ultrasound, or other) for me. After leaving, and realizing nothing had been done about my request. I called to get another appointment, which was a ways out, with a new doctor. I no longer wished to see Dr B as I do not trust her judgement or skill. KP clinic called and changed my appointment several times and with several people. I then ended up seeing a fill-in physician, who really can do nothing for me, since she isn't a primary care provider. She also reiterated that breast health is not covered in KP preventative care. (Had I known this prior to switching to KP insurance/group I would have NEVER chosen the company). She did find a lump, and has referred me to get further testing. This should have been dealt with in my original appointment. . Dealing with KP has been a nightmare.

been a customer most of my life and compared to other health plans they get to the root issue not band aid it because of cost or drag it out for years

Coverage is ok IF you can get an appointment. My husband and I moved to Hawaii after living in Honduras for four years. We began coverage on July 1. We attempted to book at the (only 2) eye care providers in network. Six month waiting list and Kaiser does NOT cover anything outside their eye clinics. That is not cool. They should cover a portion outside network if it is their fault they do not staff enough providers for the area. My husband is on his last set of contacts and we now have to pay 100% out of pocket as they certainly will not last until October.

After being a member for over 30 years, and lately going to routine mammogram, they told me that by copay is 472 dollars, so I cancelled appointment and contacted both our union benefit office and Kaiser patient services via email. After no responses, I walked into patient services office, where I was given a runaround. She told me that I have to contact my doctor about the coding of the mammogram, She never bothered to say, I will find out for you why this happened! and then she asked if I wanted her to mail the benefit booklet, obviously she was very bothered by me asking her questions. So I did now email my doctor, and waiting to hear from her. There is more to tell, but all i want to tell, that I feel like they are just herding me like cattle, no one has any answers, and no one cares.

Kaiser Permanente is not healthcare but in fact, a big scam. The employees there don't take any ownership of wrongdoing. They messed up our accounts and our names and they sent the account to collection, even though my account states a ZERO balance AND my husband was paying a payment plan. When I called the office of financial counselling and I explained to them that the account has discrepancy and we needed to verify our payments and they said "sorry we will pull the file from collection and will contact you to verify." They never did and when I called them on June 21, they said we decided not to pull the file from collection. Not to mention that they hung up the phone while I was talking with them. They are very difficult to deal with and when you ask any questions they will transfer you to another department without answering. Please be warned the nightmare you are getting yourself into when you sign up for Kaiser.

Kaiser is a criminal NONPROFIT whose CEO makes $10M yr ($834K mo). They are top-heavy with administrators that invent excuses to condone service denial. Drs get kickbacks of the difference between membership fees/govt subsidies & services provided, a further incentive for denying service. Elderly suicidal partner in emotional/financial distress suffering w/spinal stenosis & sleeping disorder is being forced to pay $200 a day for days on end as a barcalounger ca$h cow in a room w/50 other chumps at a LEGACY facility becasuse he is beyond the "scope of compentency" of the FREE Kaiser facility & was threatened with a court ordered mandatory commitment for an undetermined length of time. Despite repeated approved FOIs, Kaiser refuses ANY info to family members. They spring indecipherable bills for vast sums MONTHS later & no amount of phone calls for explanations reveals ANYTHING because nobody has a clue. If you don't pay, you're hounded DAILY with creepy collection calls.

Hands down worst physical therapy assessment I have ever received (and as an athlete I have been in physical therapy many times throughout my life). I was seen for about 25 minutes, the appointment felt very rushed. I was given several stretches and strengthening exercises and told “we’ll see you in a few weeks” which I found puzzling. I asked if regular weekly sessions are not something that is done at this facility and was told I could be seen sooner “if I wanted”. So, as I am to understand it, it seems Kaiser’s approach to physical therapy is sporadic rushed appointments where the patient is given some handouts to take home - handouts that I could certainly have found on my own with a few simple internet searches. No regular sessions to track progress and make adjustments as necessary? No manual therapy? No use of well known and effective tools to enhance a stretching and strengthening routine - like electric stim, dry needling, massage, ice, heat, etc? And now I’m stuck with Kaiser and have no choice but to utilize the services of their many little medical factories serving up mediocre care at best. I will have to pay out of pocket to receive quality care for my injuries or I will have to wait until next year where I will NOT be signing on with Kaiser again. SO very disappointed in myself for choosing Kaiser. Thank you next.

I have been a life long member of kaiser, but as off recent I’m losing patience. My father was previously a ,PIC, physician in Chief of one of the california facilities. I had a small zit like blemish show up, and after it not going away naturally after a year, I went in for treatment. Having some medical background and knowledge I asked for a referral to a dermatologist. I was told that first I had to take a month regiment of antibiotics. I took the regiment with no change. I then went in for a secondary appointment and still denied my referral and had the blemish frozen. Still, no relief from the condition, but was told that if it got bigger please contact us again for an appointment. I know am considering switching carriers after being with them for 30+ years. I feel as if I’m being brushed off and have never previously been denied service in the past. I’m not sure what is happening to kaiser, but I am becoming throughly disgusted with be brushed off and disregarded. Do I need to develop a larger issue before they will treat me....that speaks volumes to me, when kaiser used to be known as the best preventative treatment carrier locally. I believe that that reputation no longer holds true and that they have now started rationing care due to the impact of increased enrollment over the last 5 years. This for me after growing up with kaiser has made me question their ability to practice quality medicine. I will make one last attempt to switch facilities and Doctors, before I abandon them for a different coverage and different plan.

The customer service and the nurses are overall professional, but I'm not impressed with the doctors there. I've been having the very same problem but non of them are able to give me a diagnosis because they don't listen. My primary doctor said I've allergy, but the allergy doctor said I don't have allergy. I asked my primary doctor to let me see dermatologist and he got mad at me. When I got to see a dermatologist, he said I don't have any problem without really looking at me. I'm still sick after months of visiting doctors at kaiser. I don't know what cause the sickness and no doctors there can tell me. A nurse there whispered to me said I should ask my primary doctor to refer me to infectious disease specialist, but when I asked him he refused. When I emailed him the pictures of my skin condition, he doesn't even reply my email. Kaiser doctors are very disappointing. Stay away if you can.

Kaiser Pediatric Endocrinologist doctors in Downey, Ca is the worst doctors ever seen for kid that has a type I diabetes. Those doctors are unprofessional, inappropriate behavior, making demeaning statement , accusing my kid for lying and changing on the Blood sugar meter level which it can not changed, very disrespectful to my kid. Doctors are suppose to help and care for their patient, however, those doctors have not. We have changed 3 different doctors already, all doctors having the same attitudes , unprofessional behaviors. We do not recommend Kaiser for all your specialty need, stay away.

ONE STAR is still to good for them. They will make you come in for office visit after office visit keep paying that copay but nothing gets resolved. KP refuses to cover my Ajovy (for migraine) shots. They want me to come in for blood work, images, all kinds of stuff and each time is a copay. All is done and they still deny the medication. They will try to force you to try any and all other medications. Waste of time!! I paid to see a "specialist" which is a specialist copay price but you don't really get to see a specialist you see a nurse practitioner. Now the NP says, when i come back in next time I will see the MD but I have no idea why I am going back in...nothing was resolved this visit. KP is the worst EVER!!! I will never make the mistake to be a Kaiser member again. January can't get here quick enough.

They advertise their customers rarely need a dr referral to see a specialist. I got a referral from my family dr to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible. My Dr's office told me Kaiser was a pain to get referrals processed. They have to fax the form from the dr to Kaiser, then Kaiser calls me sometime after they received the fax. They said in order to be covered for the psychiatrist I needed to speak with a kaiser referral rep, and that I needed to schedule an appt to have a phone call. Their first appt was a month away. One month later when they called, the rep asked me 300 redundant questions. Questions that had already been addressed my actual dr, After the 10 minute questioning, the rep informed they would cover me to see a psychiatrist and another rep will be contacting me sometime next week or the next to schedule an appt with one. So not only, is a dr referral not enough, you have to be interrogated and asked medical questions from an insurance rep. I'm still waiting on my call to schedule my appt. Another incident with Kaiser: after seeing my family dr to get some prescriptions refilled I was shocked to receive a $611 bill from my family dr, Kaiser covered nothing. When I called Kaiser they told me I needed a referral from my family dr to see the dr I saw. I had to tell them that she is my family dr. I chose her off Kaisers website when I signed up for their insurance. The rep said he did see that she was my family dr and said he was reprocessing the claim. That was a 45 days ago. They still haven't reprocessed it. I hate kaiser. Worst insurance I have ever had.

There is nothing quick about their urgent care. I have been here with a sick 8 year old for over three hours. It doesn’t even seem busy. At Kaiser you are a number, at best. The doctor (NP) called my son the wrong name several times. His name is Carson, it’s not a hard name to pronounce. We have now been in the pharmacy for an hour and they called us up to the counter 20 minutes ago asking for a weight for my son to dose the medication when he just had a prescription filled two weeks ago. Do they not have his weight on file???? Always an awful experience at Kaiser, but this really puts the icing on the cake.

Overtime the quality of service and the availability of doctors are in decline. The medication available in their pharmacy is of inferior quality and not as effective as those you buy from othe pharmacies (Walmart, CVS, Kroger). You may file a complaint with members services but they don’t respond or provide a determination of your case. Their facility in Morrow Georgia has undergone extensive renovation and expansion, however it is virtually impossible to get an appointment. Pretty state of the Art, yet useless because you can’t get an appointment to see a doctor. Come next open season I will be taking my money to a health care provider that actually provides healthcare.

I'm a lawyer and I obviously don't do drugs or even drink, as I told my new Kaiser doc. She ordered a bunch of tests for a smallish health problem I was having. There was no emergency. As I only learned accidentally, after the test, she had ordered my urine tested for drugs and alcohol--without my consent. To make matters worse, she was evasive when I asked her what the test was for. I had to order the test results for confirmation that the test was done. (Ironically, the test results were too private for member services to give me on the phone, but my bodily integrity was not private enough for Kaiser not to invade it with a nonconsensual test.) Yes, the drug/alcohol test was negative. Now, so is my relationship with "my" doctor. When I was having asthma problems and shortness of breath another doc--Dr. Minimizer I called him--had me walk up a flight of stairs and reported I seemed fine, as in "it's all in your head, dude. No breathing problem. Did you pay the copay? Bye." After that, a friend suggested I use a cheap and simple lung measuring device, which I did. It showed my breathing capacity was at about 75% of normal. After starting asthma meds I felt almost immediate relief. That's the kind of treatment one gets with a $1,000 per month policy. Your body is actually Kaiser's, to be processed by their grindingly impersonal "protocol" machine invented by stat-churning bureaucrats who somehow seem to leave just enough to pay $4.7 million in 2017 for the CEO's salary--of a nonprofit. Join and you become a Kaiserian subject to rationed health care but unrationed executive salaries. Disagree with Kaiser? They'll do everything in their power to grind you down, firing up their CYA machine, circling the bureaucratic and lawyerly wagons and requiring you file an appeal, which they'll then probably deny. Maybe if you're lucky, you can get your state regulator involved. Good luck with that as you wait for six months for something to happen. The important thing is not that you survive; it's that if there's a problem, Kaiser not have to pay a dime for malpractice. After so many bad experiences, I don't trust Kaiser at all. Literally one of ten doctors I've seen at Kaiser was any good. I cringe when I hear their ads about working for your health. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid like the plague. And if you're already there at Kaiser, ask your doctor point blank what incentives he/she has to give or deny care, do operations, or carry a certain patient load. But there's a catch: in what's supposed to be the country that is the shining beacon to the world, practically all the health insurers are as bad as Kaiser. But at least with the others you'll get relatively independent docs who have probably only cut a few deals with the insurer to limit your care so that they can get access to the large patient base, and indoctrinated by the "one-protocol-fits-all and we are the greatest" Kaiser myth on a daily basis. Volume pays, for Microsoft and for health insurers, just not for you, and especially not at Kaiser.

Kaiser is discriminating against people with disabilities and is Horrible ins for disabled people with chronic pain. I've done every surgery and injections recommended by Kaiser, including getting a spine stimulator. My pain has gone down throughout the years, however my meds get me thru the rest. I understand the opioid epidemic and the abuse of the meds. I personally have never taken more than prescribed, ever lost a script or medication or ever requested more than my monthly allotment. As a matter of fact I've tapered myself down over the last several years on my own, because I can't stand being on them, however my body says differently. I get to the point where I can't take another step or I have been in one position for too long and can't rotate without extreme pain shooting thru my back and legs. I go to the gym regularly, stretch daily and have done pain classes and meditation. I'm well educated on my own health. Kaiser DOES NOT offer pain specialists, but plenty of surgeons that can't fix pain. Kaiser primary doc referred me to see an outside pain specialist, however upper management DENIED the referral, stating that their own staff will take over my care. I've seen over 10 doctors in Kaiser that still won't "take over". When I confronted my PCP A. Chudik about the DENIAL OF THE REFERRAL, her response was a referral to go to yet another class to "cope with the pain" instead of fighting for my care. My chart is very clear as to the MRI's Ct scans, xrays, doctors i've seen, procedures that have been completed, etc. so there's no surprise as to the legitimacy of my health. I understand if A. Chudik does not want to handle higher amounts of medication, but her job is to find the doctor that is. There has been plenty of opportunity for A. Chudik to help with getting the referral to go thru, she just doesn't want to take the time to do it. Maybe that's her way of washing her hands of a patient that needs a little extra care besides a 'simple cold'. She is a horrible advocate for patients and is in the wrong line of work, if this is the extent of her abilities. Yes I've taken action regarding appeals and begging, now my quality of life is being punished by Kaiser without any signs of relief in sight and any medication is out of pocket @ over $500 per script even though I'm covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

I have experienced nothing but a bunch of chaos and confusion including lies from the staff and the customer service that schedule appointments. They assigned me a primary care physician and then midway through the year they switched it up to somebody who knew nothing about me l. And this doctor tried to change all of my medications because of his own personal experiences that he had in the past from someone at his church. Then on top of that I needed to have surgery for my hand and I gave them ample time to have it scheduled but only to have them botched the scheduling up and now it’s almost a year later and I have had to deal with paying for the last two months. They will tell you anything! Please do not use Kaiser... find another carrier for your insurance Kaiser does not care!

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.

I have had great experience. They return calls quickly and prescriptions are filled quickly. I am quite happy with the doctors I see within Kaiser Permanente.

Very responsive; highly qualified staff; non-profit; very low administrative overhead; convenient (most services in the same location like lab, radiology and pharmacy).

I had a complaint with Kaiser over 2 months. Most of the reps don't know what they're doing. I was told to drive almost 30 minutes away to pick up information from my surgeon only to arrive and the surgeon was out of town and the info not available. Member Services took my complaint and someone would get right back with me. A month later, still no call. I have a surgery scheduled for next week. I called Atlanta Outpatient Services with a question. They told me to call my surgeon's office. I did. The lady got nasty with me telling me I should call the Outpatient Surgery Clinic. I tried to explain I just got off the phone with them, and they instructed me to call my surgeon. She placed me on hold for 15 minutes. When she finally got back on the phone, she again told me I needed to call the Outpatient Center. I again told her that's who I called and who told me to call the office she's at. I asked for her name. She refused to give me her name, and somehow we were disconnected. It seems to me that Kaiser's customer service is getting worse with every year.

In my opinion and personal experience, the Vancouver, Wa /Portland, Ore. Kaiser system is overloaded, overwhelmed and understaffed. You will pay premiums every month, but waits for dentists or any specialists will be over two months. They take your dental premiums but they don't have enough openings for new patients and you are instructed to simply keep calling back. There is no accountability or waiting list to help you actually gain access to the only dental care that is covered by your premiums. There is no legal accountability for malpractice, you are forced to go to arbitration. I was an RN, and I have never seen worse care, been denied or minimized access to care, or seen more inconsistent levels of care in my life, and I have lived in other countries with socialized medicine that were medically 20 years behind the USA. I have been mis led, misinformed, and was shocked some of the doctors I talked to were extremely misinformed or 15 years out of date with common medical knowledge. I have suffered permanent damages as a result of misdiagnosis, and denial of standard of care. Trying to obtain appropriate corrective medical care has resulted in verbal abuse from the head of the department, every thing I reported was dismissed and demeaned. I devote about 4 hours a week on the phone or in person to Kaiser issues. Even though I paid premiums automatically through Bill Pay, they charged a credit card for the same premiums a week after they were already paid. This happened more than once. I think there are a few good people there who try there best to compensate for the situation, and I appreciate them very much....but I think most are overwhelmed and quit caring. It saddens me to see Kaiser continue to actively advertise and recruit new memberships when they can't handle the case loads they have today.

We really like so many things about Kaiser, but it can be frustrating to have to go through your GP to get any other appointments, and even though I feel like we pay a lot, our coverage really isn't that great so it's very expensive to go to the doctor and get any medications.

Kaiser is expensive insurance but it is reliable. They are committed to promoting good health; after all, it benefits them if their clients are healthy. They do pay out when you need them to and their prescription and Copay is reasonable. The deductibles are fairly high on most plans though, so save your money to pay for those.