Kaiser or Blue Cross PPO? (pharmacy, to eat, offices)

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by 9126ebk

Kaiser is good for preventive care. Meaning if you know your healthy and dont have any issues Kaiser is fine . If you do have issues or think you do (or anyone in your family thats going to be covered) go PPO.

I tend to agree that Kaiser won't do well for long-term care. My personal experience with Kaiser is that they are far more concerned with cost than care if they're facing a chronic situation or expensive rehabilitation.

I'm self-employed and have a Blue Cross PPO plan, which is a little expensive for small things like office visits. The (purported) trade-off is that it's supposed to be good for catastrophic coverage or major medical situations. (Hope to never have to test it.) My biggest complaint with the policy is that the rates increase with astonishing frequency. The premiums doubled in the first three years of my policy by way of of $5 - $10 increases every few weeks. If it continues like that, and I suspect it will, the policy will be beyond my ability to pay soon.

[cricket_factor]

I'm a Kaiser fan. It seems easier for me to get a physical, a mammogram, and visit my allergist. I can get my blood drawn the morning of my physical.

My boss who has a PPO (Blue Cross) has had several appointments spreading out her physical, blood draws, etc.

I can get a mammogram appointment after work in the evenings. On a Saturday in the fall they have flu shot clinics. My point is, seems like I miss less work with Kaiser than my boss does with Blue Cross.

Just my two cents.

[waistline00]

i have had Kaiser for my entire life (29 years), i have had multiple surgeries from shattered wrist with multiple pins and plates, to major back surgery, my mom has had 5 different types of cancer and beaten them all using kaiser, my dad has even had facial reconstructive surgery out in the middle of the desert where they flew in a doctor from beverly hills to perform the surgery in the middle of then night when he ran through a barbed wire fence on his dirt bike. I LOVE Kaiser and they have taken care of my family better then i could ever hope for. I will NEVER leave Kaiser!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by waistline00

i have had Kaiser for my entire life (29 years), i have had multiple surgeries from shattered wrist with multiple pins and plates, to major back surgery, my mom has had 5 different types of cancer and beaten them all using kaiser, my dad has even had facial reconstructive surgery out in the middle of the desert where they flew in a doctor from beverly hills to perform the surgery in the middle of then night when he ran through a barbed wire fence on his dirt bike. I LOVE Kaiser and they have taken care of my family better then i could ever hope for. I will NEVER leave Kaiser!

Kaiser Patient Horror Stories

HMO Horror Stories - Library - Article | Pituitary Network Association

Kaiser Permanente Horror Stories » Kaiser Permanente Thrive Exposed

Kaiser Permanente Patient Malpractice Horror stories

[BRinSM]

i think if you google any hospital you'll find horror stories. it's pretty unfortunate, but mistakes can happen anywhere. anyways, i'm with waistline in that i've had kaiser for most of my life and have never had any issues, as in ZERO. kaiser is extremely flexible and every doctor i have seen has been plenty competent. some people aren't comfortable with the kaiser system (which is fine, i'm not judging), but i am very happy with kaiser and the services rendered. for the record, i have never been seriously ill but i am really good at hurting myself doing athletic activities.

[Ceece]

I don't think Kaiser has any more problems than any other medical groups. My parents have Kaiser and have been happy with it. I personally haven't opted for it out of convenience. My Dr's and the hospital they use are just down the street from me. Kaiser has a clinic in my city but the hospital is a few cities away, and many specialists only work out of the hospital. Many routine exams need to be scheduled far in advance and I usually like to get things over with fast. It's just my way.

[Londonteacher]

We love Kaiser- we have only ever had excellent doctors and notice no difference from the more expensive ppo we used to have. Apparently they look after their staff very well and we have no complaints.

[DewDropInn]

My family and I had Kaiser for 30 years. I've seen doctors who I thanked God for. I saw others who should not have been practicing medicine. (I can tell you, listen to the gossip in the waiting rooms. People talk about their doctors all of the time. 90% of the time if I thought a particular doctor was awful I heard other people complaining about him/her. Nobody talks about their doctors like a group of Kaiser patients.) The nurses are equally important. Same with them. Some great. Some terrible.

[JohnG72]

I'd be real careful about anything medical related on the Internet.

I have a very serious medical condition, and can say that Kaiser has given me the best treatment possible, with no expense spared.

Where people have problems with kaiser is when they read stuff on the Internet that is false. In my experience the Kaiser doctors have very little interest in arguing about bs with their patients.

[Ceece]

Originally Posted by Londonteacher

We love Kaiser- we have only ever had excellent doctors and notice no difference from the more expensive ppo we used to have. Apparently they look after their staff very well and we have no complaints.

For me, the difference between Kaiser and my PPO is about $10 a month. Insurance through employer. My parents got Kaiser when my dad retired nearly 15 years ago because at that point it was significantly less expensive than the options they were given. I won't hesitate to switch if money ever becomes an issue.