Kaiser Permanente Plan?

We have Kaiser and have gotten fantastic care! My primary physician is a DO not an MD which is great because DOs tend to me more wholistic in their approach to medicine and health in general.

My son has gotten great care as well.

What I like most about Kaiser is there's no referral process. If you doctor tells you to go get a test done, that's it, you can go. If your doc recommends you see a specialist, they schedule you an appointment. You don't have to clear it with the HMO separately.

Like PP I'm in CA so I can't vouch for doctors in OR, but as for the system itself, I've been happy.

T.

We have had Kaiser for over 2 years now and initially switched because of the low costs. I have to say that for having babies, you will not find anything cheaper. I paid $10 to have my last baby and was really impressed with the care I received. I also like my kids ped. (who also supports our decision to delay/skip vaccination). We have had a harder time finding a good doctor for my husband and I, but are finally happy with who we see.

You definitely have to understand the system and figure out what you need to do to get what you want done. The most frustrating part in my opinion is not being able to contact the dr. when you want. You have to call the advise nurse (often waiting on hold for a while) and then if they determine you need the dr. still, they put in a request for them to call you back (which can take a while). I do love that you can email your dr. I correspond a lot that way since having 2 young kids makes it hard to sit on hold.

We had the opportunity to switch back to Blue Cross this fall when my husband took a higher paying job and we chose to stick with Kaiser. I really like my OB and the care I received for that, and we are happy enough with the other doctors that we are staying for now. As far as cost goes, you really can't beat what you will pay versus other plans and I have been pleased with the quality of care.

I never found Kaizer to be good. If nothing goes wrong I guess it is great but have something go wrong and dozens of people have told me what a nightmare it is. I myself had a similar situation when I was pregnant many years ago and I will never get Kaizer again.

Yours sounds like a dream - so I would stay with them.

N.

I had/have Kaiser. About 6 years ago at 35 I had an artery dissect in my neck causing a stroke. At the Sunnyside Hospital I almost died. After wards I was given every test possible to find out why this could of happened. Out patient treatment to recover and cope. In ICU for 10 days rehab for 7, another learning program for 8 weeks, there was physical and speech too. The care was great. The way they all the different places worked together and knew what to do where to send me. I didn't have Kaiser we would have gone broke.

My child have their own doctor, but if they are sick they are always able to get in quick because the amount of doctor. They aren't always able to see theirs. With them being sick I meet several doctors and like them all.

Before Kaiser I have had long wait times because doctors were behind on the appoints. Kaiser is doctors are on time.

Gynecologist was great and found why I wasn't having periods. Sent me another specialist, because I wanted to have a baby, after the stroke. I was followed very closing durning that preg. too.

I now live in Eugene their isn't Kaiser down here. I have two insurance one so I see my doctors who saved my life and follow my on my stroke with Kaiser and one to see the doctors here in town. Yes it cost me extra money. The drive to see the doctors and a lot done over the phone.

The Urgent care and Emergency rooms are very timely. Here in Eugene we are having a really problem with hours and hours of waiting. Only a few hospitals. They were reporting up to an 8 hour wait time. It has come down.

The only really problem at Kaiser is parking the car.

Hi. I live in the Portland area and I have had Kaiser for the last 4 years. I have a primary care doc that I adore, a delayed vac friendly pediatrician and more gynecologists than I can count. (I'm currently pregnant, and had a complicated loss during my last pregnancy).
My general feeling on Kaiser is that there are good docs there and when you find them you should be pretty happy overall. I have cell phone numbers for most of my docs and all of them have called me at home at one time or another to check in. The nurse I had when we lost our son is an absolute saint. Today I called to see if I could get a heart rate check on my current pregnancy, and they didn't even hesitate about me coming in. (I'm happy to give you the names of my providers, however, they are kind of all over the city.)
The challenge with Kaiser is that the "system" can stink at times. i.e. long delays for routine appointments and "advice" nurses who are no better than the internet. And, the offices aren't as convenient as your local neighborhood doc.
Feel free to email me if you have other questions. Good luck with your decision.

I have had Kaiser insurance for the past eight year and have had very good experiences. My son was born early and required some follow up visits at OHSU and there were no problems getting that care. We luckily have not had to use his pediatrician a lot other than for standard visits, but have always had great care when needed. We tried out three different pediatricians before settling on one and had no problems switching. I love the fact that I can email his pediatrician and get a response back about a question without ever having to go to the doctor and I can go online anytime to pull his immunization records whenever I need them for something. Moving to Kaiser you will have to switch your doctors, which I know can be daunting. But I also work for Kaiser so I know that the employees and physicians are all very dedicated to providing the highest quality of care and I think you will be able to find one that meshes well with you.

I think you can find good doctors but they are usually taken. If you love yours I'd look elsewhere:-)
I've had terrible experiences with Kaiser but others have had great ones. I know one really good one there..but like I said they aren't easy to get

My daughter and boyfriends are members of Kaiser (california). The care is great, however I think to find what you want you will have to look around for it just the same as PPO's. I have had the same ped for a year now, and I am currently looking for a new one (for several reasons but one being conflict of ideas). I will tell you that the actual care I have recieved has been great. They are prompt, have always double checked my files, able to get in quick when your child meets their urgent criteria, and the advice nurses have always been helpful.
I honestly think the Ped and my boyfriend/me just have some very different views, so I don't want to discourage you. I would find your nearest Kaiser building and go check out the actual facility. Our's are very clean and very friendly. You can also go on their website and preview dr's. Some have bio's that they wrote explaining their attidues/views about what they do.
Good Luck!

NO NO NO!!! I strongly advise against anything Kaiser Perm! If you do happen to find someone you like, which is rare in my experience, the red tape you have to go through to please Kaiser is rediculous. Unfortunately, I have no choice in this matter and am stuck with them. We do like his Dr, and I did find one I like... however, they refuse to let me schedule appointments with mine in advance because she is "strictly overflow" (meaning, they only use her to see patients if they are booked and someone needs to be seen that day). They try to keep family members with the same Dr which is great, but they did not understand why I did not want to see my sons Dr, a male, when scheduling me yearly exam!
My husband had surgery in July... which they do not do at a hospital. Anything that does not require an overnight stay, is done at their own "surgical center"... a glorified Drs office. The Dr. was an idiot... opened up a 4 in. pocket of infection in his abdomen, and then didn't pack it. When we got home, it was bleeding through the gauze, his clothes, etc... then we were told to drive 25 miles back to urgent care because they would not authorize the ER that is 5 blocks from our house... come to find out, urgent care does not see wound care patients. The reason for the bleeding was due to no packing in the wound (he did not have stitches as it was to heal from the inside out), and that they rushed him out so quick he didn't have time to propperly clot after surgery. This was after we had sat in the waiting room from 9-1:30 because the Dr. put us off to go do a consult on another Dr's patient across town. We now have a $280 bill due to the care he has needed to fix the idiots mistake, and a $75 bill for the ER.
Again... NO NO NO!!!! And I am not the only one I know with these problems (there are a lot more I could list, trust me!). I remember my mom going through all of this with my grandpa when I was growing up... as a teenager I remember her paying higher premiums for my dads insurance rather than going with Kaiser through her employer.

We had Kaiser in Denver for years I LOVED my Dr. He was awesome, he always remembered me when I went in, all my health details as well as where I worked and what my husband did, etc. I also had a great Dr. for my kiddos. She was very down to earth and LISTENED to what I had to say. If you go to a Dr. at Kaiser you don't click with try another one, that's the beauty of HMOs you have alot of Dr.s under one roof!

Here's another California Kaiser member.
I don't know whether you can find providers
as wonderful as you already have.
You might want to make some lists of pluses and minuses
and compare the length of the lists, the importance of each element.
I do know that I have appreciated the ease of using my Kaiser membership. Even the occasional frustrations are sighificantly less of a problem when compared with the overall ease of taking care of myself.
Are any of your friends already members of Kaiser locally?
Have you asked them what they like and dislike about their experiences?
S.

We are in CA so I cant vouch for the Kaiser in OR but I LOVE our daughters Ped. at our local Kaiser (we also delay reactions and our doctor is completely on our side, but we did have to do research and try out a few, but isn't that always the case?). I also had a great birth there with a great nurse/midwife.

Anyway, we love Kaiser, the fact that everything is all in one place, all is included in the copay and we can call the nurse line 24/7 is GREAT!