Kaiser is unlike regular insurance because they don’t let you pick an independent provider. Instead, all your doctors are hired directly by the insurance company in a major conflict of interest.
I’ve been in Kaiser for years, and even though my wife has worked for PPO insurers, and head up chronic care solutions for a large one, she is on my Kaiser HMO plan. The cost for care is simply much much cheaper going through Kaiser.
The overall organization is not-for-profit, and physicians are on salary, and that shows when the bill comes. That said, they’re pretty notorious for struggling with the lack of physicians and therapists in the US.
IMHO, I’ve got a lot of issues with Kaiser, but when it works, it works really well. When I needed major surgery they let me get multiple opinions with multiple surgeons at different hospitals, and I picked the surgeon that felt had the best plan and track record. Then they made sure to set me up with long term care with a PT, nutritionist, specialist in my condition, etc. That plus a week in the hospital cost me $50 or something. Maybe $75 with drugs. No way my company’s equivalent PPO plan would’ve done that.
Nixon legalized and subsidized HMOs because his friend Edgar Kaiser thought it would be profitable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QkgUkM0o6Q
Kaiser is unlike regular insurance because they don’t let you pick an independent provider. Instead, all your doctors are hired directly by the insurance company in a major conflict of interest.
I’ve been in Kaiser for years, and even though my wife has worked for PPO insurers, and head up chronic care solutions for a large one, she is on my Kaiser HMO plan. The cost for care is simply much much cheaper going through Kaiser.
The overall organization is not-for-profit, and physicians are on salary, and that shows when the bill comes. That said, they’re pretty notorious for struggling with the lack of physicians and therapists in the US.
IMHO, I’ve got a lot of issues with Kaiser, but when it works, it works really well. When I needed major surgery they let me get multiple opinions with multiple surgeons at different hospitals, and I picked the surgeon that felt had the best plan and track record. Then they made sure to set me up with long term care with a PT, nutritionist, specialist in my condition, etc. That plus a week in the hospital cost me $50 or something. Maybe $75 with drugs. No way my company’s equivalent PPO plan would’ve done that.