Tell me about kaiser

oceanangelbeauty

We are considering paying out of pocket for an affordable plan . What are the good and the bad about it?

StefandTodd

I love Kaiser.  I love that everything is in one place.  I've had really great experiences getting referrals to specialists when I've needed them.  I have LOVED (!!) my prenatal care so far with Kaiser.  I am so very glad we did not switch before getting pregnant (we considered it).

My H has Kaiser also (we're each on separate work-provided Kaiser plans), and we both got really sick a couple years ago while in Alabama.  We went to an urgent care clinic and got treated, got prescriptions, and Todd even got a shot of something to stop him from throwing up, etc.  We paid $10, and never had to deal with it again.  I was nervous how Kaiser would handle us being treated at a non-Kaiser facility in a place Kaiser isn't provided but they took care of everything, no questions asked.

My aunt & uncle, family of 4, self-employed, have always paid OOP for Kaiser plans, and have had been very happy with it.

I don't see any reason we will ever switch.  I've been with them for years and years...most of my life, probably...and I've been very happy. 

jbrooke81

Love them! I love the "one-stop shop." You can show up and if you need lab work, x-rays, etc. it is all in one place. Our doctors have been wonderful (pedis, ob/gyn, and general practitioners). I also love the advice nurses. They are super helpful, and I have avoided actually going to the doctor many times with their help. Huge bonus in my opinion Hope we never have to change!

teambaumer

I love it and miss it for the reasons described in PP. Wished we had it now, but their facilities are too far for us and DH likes that we can see any doctor we want with our Blue Cross PPO. I will convince him some day.

SFAug07

I also love them. I had Sarah at the San Francisco hospital and had a great experience. Prenatal care was really good too and I have yet to spend a penny on anything. Even IF treatment/medication was covered in my plan. Sarah's pedi is wonderful. I really love the online services, booking appointments online, sending emails to your doctor and they respond within 24 hours. I have asked Sarah's pedi many parenting related questions via email and she is always so helpful. The advice nurse line is good too, I also have avoided taking Sarah by just getting advice from them.

oceanangelbeauty

Oo now I am getting excited about this! We have been with out insurance do a while now . We can actually afford this and it is sounding better and better. We are going to start TTC soon and need to be covered.

danandkelly

I love it for all the reasons listed above, but also the treatment the girls got when they had their spinal surgeries was AMAZING.  The fact that they let me be picky about scheduling the surgeries and I didn't have to beg to have them done on the same day.  The care was better than I could have ever expected.  And the fact that I paid nothing (my plan is great) for a 2 day hospital stay in the PICU and 2 pedi-neurosurgeries (with 2 pedi-neurosurgeons each) was awesome. 

I know a lot of people are afraid of being treated like just a number, but honestly I have never felt that way, I feel like all of the physicians we've had have gone out of their way to really connect with us and make us feel like we're being heard.

I wouldn't change for anything at this point.

LoLoPanda

I love it, always have. I love it for the same reasons PP said, one-stop-shop, you can get lab work, x-rays, prescriptions, etc. all in the same building and/or campus and not have to go to 10 different places around town.

Mrs.BoomBoom

With my mom's care, we keep saying "imagine if you weren't with Kaiser and had to find all these specialists on your own!"

Mrs.K&C

Love it for all the same reasons, plus my care and my child's care has been exemplary. I have an OB I absolutely adore, and a pediatrician that is amazing. I don't feel like a number at all. Our pedi has given us a cell number to contact him if we need to, I have my OB's direct office number, all of our doctors have responded to emails quickly, and if I've ever had an issue with a doctor, it has been very easy to switch. Also have no problem with same day appointments for my kids, which is important to me. I've felt my care and my kids care has been extremely proactive.

Mrs.Wright07

Ditto to everything that has been said.  We've had great experiences with them.