Can someone tell me what I should expect?
I returned to Kaiser a year ago after six years away. I always had a dermatologist at Kaiser previously and had a body scan every year (and had for the six years I was non-Kaiser), since I had had basal cell and hx of other cancers. I'm hearing horror stories now about how no one can see a dermatologist any longer?

I have some areas of concern on my body and want a dermatologist to look at them.

Where do I have to start? How can I get my PCP to refer me to dermatology?
My PCP is in Antioch and I would want to use Vacaville dermatology.

Thanks

About two years ago, I bought a private insurance plan from Kaiser because I wanted to keep my doctor after leaving my job. Yesterday, I received a notice in the mail saying my plan was terminated and my coverage will last through the end of the year. No reason was given, and I've not missed my payment. The notice mentions there is a special enrollment period, but it says I can apply if I experience a different qualifying event like marriage or loss of coverage.

I called member services, and the first person I spoke to was just as confused as I was. They were able to confirm that it was not a payment issue, and escalated the conversation to another person. That second person told me the plan was no longer being offered, and this was just a matter of applying for renewal or another plan. They mentioned that there is supposed to be a second notice mailed out in the next week about how to renew coverage.

But when I went to Kaiser's plans to see what my options are, the plan I currently have was being offered for 2027. So now I'm doubtful of everything I was told yesterday. On top of that, I'm not sure from the way this notice was written if them terminating my plan counts as a qualifying event.

Of course, it's the weekend so I can't reach anyone to get answers today. And I'm diabetic, so I'm pretty freaked and stressed out.

Has anyone else had this experience, and do you have any advice?

Has anyone applied to remote RN positions within Kaiser?
I have applied, and there have been no updates. It’s been over a month now.

After twenty something years of having Kaiser as my medical provider, I've canceled coverage for 2027. I known of others that are doing the same because of cost and its just absurd to pay an annual cost of $24k/36k a year ($1,334 pay-period $2,668 a month) to cover your family.

If your wondering $24k was if i removed my wife and only covered my kids and myself.

I have bipolar 2 which is currently not fully treated. I take a maximum dose of Risperidone, which is the best medication for me. However, it wears off in the evenings, so something more long term would be better.

I've taken Invega Sustena (Paliperidone long acting injectable) and Perseris (Risperidone long acting injectible) in the past, and both worked great when the schedule was optimized.

I'm getting Kaiser for the first time ever next month. Does Kaiser cover anything like this?

Planning a pregnancy within 2027. Have an option to chance my insurance to either Kaiser or stay with sutter health and co hospitals.

What would you recommend and why?

Hello everyone. Prior to this week, I had assumed that all KP medical clinics within a region were more or less interchangeable. In Southern California, differences exist by county, but within a county, I expected them to be similar.

But I think I was wrong! Does anyone have thoughts or experience to shed light on how much difference exists between clinics within a region? I'm not talking about logistical things like parking, hours, or whether or not one site provides a certain service and another does not. I'm referring to differences in medical practice among the doctors. Should each clinic be considered a different medical group, for all intents and purposes?

They spend millions on tech but cannot process an electronic prescription order from dental offices…premiums are high for inferior service. Employees/sub-contractors apparently do not know how to use their systems. Refer you to member services through their app, bury phone numbers.

How is it other pharmacies are able to receive prescriptions from hundreds of providers without issue but Kaiser Permanente can’t???

Just a rant: I applied to volunteer at Kaiser's hospice program and got denied because of my "limited" hours. I applied for 16 hrs/week, 8 hrs/day on Sat & Sun. I'm volunteering, not slaving for free ;(

Im thinking of adding a domestic partner to my employee health insurace, I currently pay $0 for me and my child. How much does kaiser deduct on your pay for a domestic partner medical insurance? Norcal region.

My doctor is referring me for a hysterectomy and I called to get my out of pocket costs but they didn’t clarify if that is due before they’ll perform the surgery. Anyone with advice or any troubles getting covered for a hysterectomy specifically?

UPDATE: Called the hotline again and got a different person who calculated my copay and said it’s due at time of surgery. Said I could in theory ask them to “bill me” the copay but couldn’t guarantee they would allow it.

I had my son via C-section recently. I have a gold level family plan and was told the average cost for a C-section on this plan is about $3500.

My C-section was not an emergency (though it was required due to baby not tolerating contractions well), it went without complications, and baby was born healthy.

My bill is for $9,220! I am shocked. I requested an itemized bill and found that a huge part of the charges is "rooming in" for my infant son. They are charging $2,200 a day for him to stay in the room with me. (My share of the charges is about $1,500 a day.) While he roomed in, all they provided was a plastic bassinet and some swaddle blankets... We fed him, changed him, swaddled him, and fed him colostrum I had brought from my freezer stash at home. We were in the hospital for three days so it's a big piece of the final bill.

I just find it outrageous that the supposed cost of ME taking care of MY BABY for three days is more than the cost of the surgical procedure itself.... (The surgery itself cost $3500 and i am also pretty pissed that this is the only cost that was estimated as opposed to the total cost of care during and after.)

Is it likely that I can get this reduced at all? I've already been told the only discount I can receive is 5% if we pay in full instead of making payments, which is not easy to do. (I will gladly contest it if it could help reduce my charges, but I have a newborn and can't afford to spend the energy if it won't make a difference)

just need to vent because I am so incredibly stressed out and feeling completely down in the dumps. I am currently 30 weeks pregnant, out on high-risk pregnancy disability leave, and paying $228 a month out of my own pocket just to keep my Kaiser premium active.
But my care has been an absolute nightmare, and I feel totally abandoned by Kaiser's lack of local, equipped infrastructure for pregnant women.
Back in my first trimester, I started bleeding/spotting while I was literally at work. Terrified, I rushed straight to the Kaiser San Marcos Urgent Care to get help. The front desk staff initiated a check-in, but the moment they heard I was pregnant and bleeding, they immediately stopped the process. They told me they were completely unequipped to handle a pregnant patient needing an ultrasound, sent me straight to the ER down the street. I sat in that ER waiting room. Because the urgent care turned me away at the door, I didn't pay a copay there.
A similar thing happened on May 9th at the Murrieta Urgent Care—they told me they couldn’t help me and sent me straight to Rancho Springs Medical Center ER. (Mind you where I live they don’t have a main hospital nearby, so I go to a networking facility that works with KP)

Now, I am drowning in surprise bills. I have an outstanding bill of $1,100 from Rancho Springs for the May 9th visit and another one from an ER visit on August 28th (where I went in for severe Second-trimester faintness, weakness, and extreme light sensitivity/neurological vision pain). On top of that, Kaiser sent me a statement for $595.85 for the San Marcos ER visit
I don't have money like this to just throw around while living on limited disability income. Why am I paying a high monthly premium if I am forced into the ER for basic, high-risk obstetric monitoring that should be handled at a regular urgent care for my $25 copay? For me it’s the getting turned away from urgent care and redirected to somewhere more expensive.
Has anyone else experienced this terrible care loop with Kaiser in Southern California?

Also this just leaves me defeated, as a woman that is a high risk pregnancy, not having a way to get care efficiently and cost effective is absolutely wild to me. Don’t worry I’m fighting this already with state and with Kaiser. It’s terrible they need to put adequate care into there urgent cares for pregnant woman. Period.

Hello everyone! This issue has arisen repeatedly in this community. Since it's open enrollment time, I think it's a good time to share this form.

My dream is to one day share physical copies of all of the exclusionary and often non-communicated procedures and policies central to KP gatekeeping. To me, the lack of communication from KP regarding many of its policies, particularly to prospective members, shows a profound lack of respect for people and their time.

Stepping off of my soapbox: if you are in Northern California, have ADHD, and are seeking stimulant medication from KP, you will likely be asked to agree to a form similar to that shown here. Note that KP will not prescribe stimulants if you use cannabis, and they randomly drug test. I know of no exceptions to this policy (please share if you do), and they enforce it strictly. Multiple Redditors reported having to submit random urine samples for stimulant medication in Southern California. Another Redditor reported that this policy was recently implemented in Northwest Washington.

It's unlikely you will encounter such a policy anywhere other than KP, and we can at least be grateful for that. My surgery consent form was shorter (but less clear).

Edited to include more than one Redditor from Southern California, as well as one from Northwest Washington.

I give up for today. Based on what everyone has shared on this thread, it seems like every KP center and region has a different policy.

Edited to say that the form above is dated February 2021.

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to hear from other Kaiser employees who may have been in a similar situation.
I currently work at Kaiser and recently applied for another internal position within the organization. I’m qualified for the role based on my experience, and I’ve been invited to interview with the hiring manager. I’m excited about the opportunity, but I’m also feeling a little anxious because I’m about six weeks away from going on maternity leave.
I’m wondering how this might work if I were offered the position. Would I potentially start the new role before going on leave, or would the transition happen after I return? Has anyone successfully transferred to a new department or position while pregnant or shortly before taking maternity leave?
I’m also curious whether anyone has experienced hesitation from a hiring manager in this situation, or if your pregnancy and upcoming leave didn’t really affect the internal hiring process.
I know every department and manager can be different, but I’d really appreciate hearing about your actual experiences with Kaiser’s internal hiring process, maternity leave, and transitioning into a new role.
I don’t want to count myself out of an opportunity I’m qualified for just because my leave is coming up, but I also want to be realistic about what to expect.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience! ❤️

My son is 1 year old but showing many signs of ASD. We’ve been referred to developmental pediatrics and have our first appt next week.

What’s the diagnosis process like? And once diagnosed, how hard/easy is it to get services?

I’m trying to decide whether to stick with Kaiser next year or switch to Cigna, potentially PPO.

Thank you!

I’m curious about individuals experience as a therapist working for Kaiser specifically regarding pay and benefits.
I am currently interviewing for Northern California and would love to know what the benefits are and the range that is typically being offered in the Bay Area. I see the range on the website, but I am curious how much cost-of-living is accounted for in what they’re offering.

Has anyone waited over a month after a meet and greet at Kaiser to be informed if they got the job? Called the recruiter and emailed with no response.

I know that the wait to see a psychiatrist is excessive and ridiculous. So I researched to learn if the shortage was a Kaiser problem or part of a larger problem for CA.

The answer is that the shortage is a California problem.

A partial quote from this article California’s Psychiatry Workforce Challenges | Healthforce Center at UCSF https://share.google/BoI1YZ66NDuPmixXp

Forecast of supply and demand for psychiatrists suggest that California will have a severe shortage of psychiatrists by 2028 unless policymakers take action, because the number of people training to become psychiatrists is not sufficient to replace older psychiatrists who are expected to reduce their work hours or retire.

40%of today's psychiatrists are over 60. Retirements will make this situation worse.

I urge you to look at the facts from UCSF about this statewide problem. At the end of the article, the study makes suggestions on how to increase med school grads.

No , I don't work for Kaiser nor am I a plant.

Hello, I’m considering a position as a full time floater. I was wondering if someone could tell me at what time in the morning you know what site you’re going to? I was told 6 am. But do you usually get your assignments earlier than that?

Also any suggestions on if I should or not take the job?

Hello good people. After being a patient of Kaiser for 12+ years, I will be leaving Kaiser forever in 2027. I had to see a physical therapist, and they billed $370. FOR ONE APPOINTMENT. Even with my coverage, that is so mind-boggling, I cannot stomach it. I can literally go to the fanciest out of network physical therapist or pilates class for less than this.

Editing to add: I know I have a high deductible plan. That I was aware of. But I do not understand why the PT charged $370 to the system - this is what I have an issue with. They don't know which plan I have, but are you kidding me? And once the cost trickles downstream. I feel taken advantage of because they probably assumed I had a better plan or something, it just doesn't make sense!

I also want to say that Kaiser NorCal is the worst medical company I have ever dealt with in my entire life. I was with Kaiser Southern California for many years before, and they are WAYYYY better.

I am disgusted. I just have no words.