Why Is Kaiser A Bad Choice For Health Care ? (San Diego: health insurance, transfer)

[expatCA]

They are good but not great. I have also heard, but not verified, that they hire the doctors from the bottom 10% of the class. The old adage is probably correct, you get what you pay for.

[CNYC]

Originally Posted by oddstray

I know several people who use Kaiser and are quite content with their care. The biggest complaint I heard was the problem parking at some of their facilities.

I like to use Scripps for medical care. If I have Kaiser would I not be able to use Scripps ?

By the way THANK YOU for all your comments. It is interesting to read the different perspectives.

By the way I have been to the Scripps ER twice. Once in Encinitas and once in Chula Vista. I felt very comfortable in both locations. They are located close to Tijuana and my house in Encinitas.

[moved]

If you have Kaiser, you have to use Kaiser. If you change your insurance plan, you'll be able to use Scripps.

[Heidi60]

While my husband had employer based insurance we were stuck with Kaiser. When he retired we ran as fast as possible to get away from them. We are blessed that our new doctors diagnosed several issues which could have become very serious that Kaiser missed as they restrict their doctors to seven minutes per patient. It is also my understanding that they pay doctor's bonus based in part on the number of prescriptions they write. They are always coming with new ways to hit the patients up with additional charges so they end up being more expensive than other plans. Compare all your costs very carefully.

Our experience with many of their employees was challenging to say the least as communication skills seemed to be limited resulting in misinformation being given. Some girl called me from there one day telling me I needed to come back to repeat a test which turned out to be false. Another one called to schedule a different test but wasn't able to even tell me what test I was supposed to have so I asked him spell the word so I was able to figure it out. Another time I was told my doctor wanted me to see a surgeon but the surgeon had no idea why I was told to see him. There is so much I want to forget about that place.

[djxpress]

Here's my opinion being an RN that works at Sharp, having done clinicals at Kaiser, and a couple of externships at UCSD: There are good an bad traits of each system.

While I was doing clinicals at Kaiser, it seemed like the staff, RNs, MDs were pretty content with working there. They pay their people very well. They are a full 100% union for the nurses, so they have a lot of pull when it comes to how things are done there. In healthcare circles they say that Kaiser is great and delivers good care for patients, if they're healthy to begin with. Kaiser is very big on preventative care, and treating patients in the outpatient setting, before they get to the hospital. Hospital care is very, very expensive. Of course there are also horror stories about Kaiser care in the hospital, even going so far as having a website that lists peoples horror stories.

I externed at UCSD and have also had care at one of their facilities. They are also a 100% union shop. It seems like the care there is pretty cutting edge, since it's a teaching hospital, they're always on the leading edge of treatments and new therapies. They also do a lot of clinical trials. Things can move very slow there because a lot of times you're being seen by residents and student doctors. You're going to get the full work up, they're going to be slow, and they may not have the acquired experience of an MD that's been doing the job 20 years - an MD that has a lot of clinical experience. Their Hillcrest hospital is old, and run down, while their Thornton Hospital is new and nice.

Sharp and Scripps are both kind of in the same ballpark. They both have their poster child hospital (Sharp Memorial/Scripps La Jolla). And they also have their black sheep (Sharp Grossmont/Scripps Mercy). They both provide pretty good care (I've had care at both organizations). Currently, I go to Sharp Rees Stealy, and I love them. I get great care, great service, and I can see my labs, etc online).

Palomar/Pomerado - I have no experience with this system

Alvarado/Paradise Valley - I have no experience with this system

Ultimately, everyone is going to have different experiences with each hospital system. Some will hate Kaiser, while others will love them. Having been a past Kaiser patient, I can say everything was very efficient. No problem with different doctors not knowing what others are doing, since they all have access to the same medical records.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CNYC

I keep hearing this over and over but get conflicting answers as to why people don't like Kaiser. The most interesting response I got was from someone in the billing department at Scripps who said they are a union based health care carrier so their rules are much stricter.

It so happens that one of the Kaiser Plans is the only one that covers a very expensive medicine I need to take. It doesn't look like I have other choices and out of pocket for my meds would be too much.

Can anyone shed some light on Kaiser and WHY NOT to use them ?

Thank You

If Kaiser covers what you need, then go for it. One reason some people don't like it is that they sometimes cut corners to save money so that the docs can make a bigger profit (the docs work for a for-profit arm of the Kaiser thing), so that results in bad things happening, sometimes. There's a Kaiser watchdog website you can visit if you want to get the dirt on them. But it sounds like they're your best choice at this time, given your situation. And some people love them. But unlike some other insurances, you can't self-refer to specialists, and your primary care doc may decline to refer you, depending on the situation (another cost-cutting strategy, ostensibly).

[CNYC]

Originally Posted by Heidi60

While my husband had employer based insurance we were stuck with Kaiser. When he retired we ran as fast as possible to get away from them. We are blessed that our new doctors diagnosed several issues which could have become very serious that Kaiser missed as they restrict their doctors to seven minutes per patient. It is also my understanding that they pay doctor's bonus based in part on the number of prescriptions they write. They are always coming with new ways to hit the patients up with additional charges so they end up being more expensive than other plans. Compare all your costs very carefully.

Our experience with many of their employees was challenging to say the least as communication skills seemed to be limited resulting in misinformation being given. Some girl called me from there one day telling me I needed to come back to repeat a test which turned out to be false. Another one called to schedule a different test but wasn't able to even tell me what test I was supposed to have so I asked him spell the word so I was able to figure it out. Another time I was told my doctor wanted me to see a surgeon but the surgeon had no idea why I was told to see him. There is so much I want to forget about that place.

Thanks. This is the type of thing people were telling me about Kaiser.

[CNYC]

Originally Posted by djxpress

Here's my opinion being an RN that works at Sharp, having done clinicals at Kaiser, and a couple of externships at UCSD: There are good an bad traits of each system.

While I was doing clinicals at Kaiser, it seemed like the staff, RNs, MDs were pretty content with working there. They pay their people very well. They are a full 100% union for the nurses, so they have a lot of pull when it comes to how things are done there. In healthcare circles they say that Kaiser is great and delivers good care for patients, if they're healthy to begin with. Kaiser is very big on preventative care, and treating patients in the outpatient setting, before they get to the hospital. Hospital care is very, very expensive. Of course there are also horror stories about Kaiser care in the hospital, even going so far as having a website that lists peoples horror stories.

I externed at UCSD and have also had care at one of their facilities. They are also a 100% union shop. It seems like the care there is pretty cutting edge, since it's a teaching hospital, they're always on the leading edge of treatments and new therapies. They also do a lot of clinical trials. Things can move very slow there because a lot of times you're being seen by residents and student doctors. You're going to get the full work up, they're going to be slow, and they may not have the acquired experience of an MD that's been doing the job 20 years - an MD that has a lot of clinical experience. Their Hillcrest hospital is old, and run down, while their Thornton Hospital is new and nice.

Sharp and Scripps are both kind of in the same ballpark. They both have their poster child hospital (Sharp Memorial/Scripps La Jolla). And they also have their black sheep (Sharp Grossmont/Scripps Mercy). They both provide pretty good care (I've had care at both organizations). Currently, I go to Sharp Rees Stealy, and I love them. I get great care, great service, and I can see my labs, etc online).

Palomar/Pomerado - I have no experience with this system

Alvarado/Paradise Valley - I have no experience with this system

Ultimately, everyone is going to have different experiences with each hospital system. Some will hate Kaiser, while others will love them. Having been a past Kaiser patient, I can say everything was very efficient. No problem with different doctors not knowing what others are doing, since they all have access to the same medical records.

Thank You this was an informative read.

[smpliving]

Just my experience from people I knew who had Kaiser over the 30 years I lived in Southern California from the 1960s-1990s. The system had a bad reputation. These families had loved ones who had serious illnesses and one resulting in death from a late cancer diagnosis (at least that's their view). Others felt Kaiser was very impersonal.

[Jimrob1]

I had Kaiser when I lived in San Diego in the 70's and 80's. I remember I had the most complete physical I have ever had. The results came in the mail a few weeks later, and I will never forget them. My results were normal, but because I was a Diabetic. Then I would only have a life expectancy of between 15 and 20 more years. I was so upset by this letter, I called Kaiser and said I had never heard of anyone being sent a letter like this. A notice actually telling someone only 15 or 20 more years and then your dead. No hope for you. . I had just turned 30 at the time. I'll be 66 next month. So much for the Kaiser Physical, at least the one's they gave in 1980.

Other than that I liked Kaiser at least at that time. People I know that have it now days, seem to have mixed feelings about the Health plan. One complaint I have heard friends mention is the high cost of the plan, and all the copayments involved with treatment. Impersonal has also come up. Well after the letter I got in 1980, I would have to agree on the impersonal part. Seemed like a lot of people had Kaiser in San Diego, and I found it odd they only had 1 hospital. The one on Zion as its referred to by Kaiser.