Complain about a product or service

Kaiser Permanente Insurance

Dixie of Roseville CA (08/07/08)
Nurse practioner allowing a diabetic patient to live with a HbA1c >9 and refusing to call in an endocrinologist, or following the recommendations of clinical pharmacist.

This will increase the chance for the patient to suffer sequela that could be lessened or delayed.

Vai of Honolulu HI (05/08/08)
My complaint is Cardiologiest of Kaiser Permenante in Hawaii and San Bernardino. Dr. Paul of Kaiser-Hawaii ignored my condition. A speculations Rhuematic Fever when I was young has caused my heart's Mitral Valve to malfuntion on 08/25/2005. An operation (11/08/2005) of replacement with machanical valve was done with a Maze procedure to help decrease Atrial Fibulation was prescribed by Dr. Paul. After the operation, Dr. failed to monitor my medications and assigned a nurse practioner to take over my condition and medication only to be accuessed of Non complient of Medication by the nurse practioner which was not true.

I continued to take medication that was prescribed to me after my operation without a Cardiologist monitoring my heart medications. My condition continued to deterrate I am still unable to hold a sustainable employment. I moved to California and suffered repeated Emergency Room visits with Chest Pains and difficultly breathing, Request of medical records from Dr. left the Doctors in California wondering why I was in the Emergency Room. I felt black balled Another incident in California, I did not mention Dr....in fear of another black balled incident.

And I was admitted to the hospital and an Ultrasound test, EKG, X-ray, and another test was done with me laying down and a lot of banging noises. Test results stated that I had Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension due to an enlarged left side of my heart and two valves are leaking, one valve leakes more than the other. The mechanical Mitral valve however works great. I finally understood my condition. This is why I start to cough liquid when I walk fast or walk far distance or doing any kind of hard physical activities.

The Cardiologist of St. Bernadine Medical Center in San Bernardino, California, that night monitoring my condition explained in detail what was going on with my condition. Until, the follow-up visit, with the same cardiology doctor. He stated that there is nothing wrong with me...and that the Mitral valve that was fixed is fixed and I have no other problems. I asked about his statement to me in the hospital of the leaking valves and the enlarged left side of my heart. He stated that there is nothing wrong with my heart. It is my lungs, that I have pulmonary hypertension. He refered me to a pulmonary specialist and this pulmonary doctor said that the reason for back flow of liquid into the lungs is because of the Aitral Fibulation and the leaking valves of the heart, cause the fluids to back-up into the lungs.

I believe that Dr. Paul and the cardiologist doctor spoke about my condition thus changing his comments of test results. I asked for test results and from what I could read and understand, increased size and leaking valves. I don't know any more, but I feel something is diffenently wrong.

I am in Hawaii again and requested another doctor besides Dr Paul. The doctor I got with Kaiser Medical Center a Cardiologist Dr. S., said I don't have Congestive Heart Failure and I don't have Pulmonary Hypertension with out looking through my medical records...He even attempted to stop my Coreg a major heart medication. I mentioned to him that I have Atrial Fibulation and that the Coreg helps to control my heart rate. Only then he goes to the computer and scrolls a while to read my history. He leaves the room without a proper medical exam. I am confused and litteraly very sick.

Please, my question is, could it be my medical plan on Med-Quest / Welfare Medical that such crappy services and treatment to a very sick mother of 10 children and age 42 when diagnosed of Mitral Valve replacement...Now I am 44 with a birthday on Mothers Day, I will be 45 years old. I am blessed to live long enough to know I have a grandson, my first grandchild. I have yet to hold and hear him cry. I respect the medical profession, I hate to point out other peoples problems but, When I am sick...I go to the doctor with trust and my undivided attention to do what ever they say to help me get better. Even to live just a little bit longer.

I continue to suffer from chest pains, coughing up liquids, difficulty breathing at times, I have not been able to go back to work with efforts of SSI/SSDI denials, I would be more than happy to return to work. Only to be taken to the hospital with a minor stroke and or chest pains. I have just gotten notice of the State of Hawaii Medical Examiner officially approved my case as Disabled. I finally have a Circut Judge Court date for Social Security on May 21, 2008. My condition continues to be unmonitored by a qualified Cardiologist.

Cindy of Bakersfield CA (04/25/08)
I have been trying for over a year to get Kaiser in Bakersfield, CA to find out what is wrong with my back. All that has been done is an x-ray which showed arthrtis. I begged my primary doctor to find out what is wrong and she is not going to do it. She todl me yesterday that it was nouthing and told me she would not give me anymore medication for it, to take tylenol. It is all I can do to function with the medication so will probally end up out of work. She is also unwilling to put me on disability.

Now I also have something wrong with my hands/wrists. They are very painful and swollen for over a month. Arthritis in my back, swollen painful hands and wrists, low grade fever, fatigue. I am not a doctor but it would seem to me that she (the doctor) would be trying to find out what is wrong. I am being treated like there is nouthing wrong with me and my life is falling apart.

Kaiser is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. The only reason I am there at all is because I can't afford to pay cash for a doctor since I am broke from missing work, due to them not treating me in the first place.

I am in alot of pain, have no diagnosis, and am going to have to file bankruptcy due to missing work.

Roxann of Salem OR (03/05/08)
Email sent to Kaiser [48 hrs., still haven't heard from them]: For many years now we've been paying a small fortune for our Kaiser health care. We probably have enough money invested in it by this time, that we should own the west wing of the Salem Lancaster facility [$829.00 a mo., $750.00 deductible]. I've had Systemic Lupus most of my life, and have not bothered them with any health care issues in more years than I can possibly remember. Last week I began having severe symptoms to the point that I couldn't get up and walk. I waited until I could before calling to make an appointment, which I attempted to do yesterday, March 4th. Long story short; I was told by the appointment desk that the nurse would be calling me back. Over 24 hrs. later, I'm still waiting for that call. In the meantime, I've grown so angry that I refuse to call back. Had I been an elderly person suffering from chest pains, I'd probably have been dead by this time. I was *never* asked what my symptoms were.

In my opinion, there is no room for mistakes like this in the health care business. If it were possible, I'd use the portion of Kaiser that I should own by now, to terminate whoever was responsible for not returning calls yesterday. My daughter-in-law is on the Oregon Health Care plan and she receives far better health care than Kaiser demonstrated to me. You might consider removing your Values webpage, because it certainly does not apply.

Joy of Aurora CO (02/03/08)
Kaiser has refused to provide, prescribe or cover effective medications. I have asked repeatedly over the last month to be placed back on my Allegra D-24 as I was on for 18+ months while covered under Aetna. Since this medication is not on Kaiser's formulary, they won't provide it to me even though it's the only medication that is effective for me.

As a result of their refusal to effectively treat, prescribe or cover the only medication that works for me, I am now faced with severe post-nasal drip leading to intense constant nausea, excruciatingly painful sore throats that impede swallowing and sometimes breathing, low-grade fevers and headaches. As a result of the symptoms, I am not sleeping very well at all. Combining the lack of restful sleep with the low grade fevers--I am barely able to stay focused on my work at the office. Because of the congestion and sore throats and nausea, I'm barely able to make it through a 20-minute call with a client without putting them on hold to attend to my medical issues, let alone the nearly 15 hour-long instruction calls I provide each week.

As a result, my work product and productivity are suffering. At home, the symptoms are adversely impacting my ability to enjoy marital relationship with my husband - a fact that is starting to seriously upset him off. The resurgence of the symptoms (directly the result of Kaiser's refusal to prescribe, provide or cover the only effective treatment shown to work for me),Kaiser Permanente is in direct violation of the basic Hippocratic oath as I am being harmed by their intentional injustice.

Shane of Los Angeles CA (01/28/08)
I canceled my medical insurance with Kaiser on 12/31/07 and on 01/07/08 was charged again for services. I canceled my medical insurance because I was not working at the time and needed to save money for other expenses. The $254 that was debited caused my bank account to become overdrawn, for which I was fined $30-$35 for every payment that bounced. I had a tight budget on my bank account, and now because of this, it has sent my funds into an upheaval. I contacted Kaiser services twice by phone and tried to correct this but was told there was nothing they can do regarding the overdrawn fees; however the second rep said they will refund my payment immediately.

When I asked to speak with a manager I was put in touch with Laura Inzunza. She was very rude and cut me off several times as I was trying to explain the situation; however, again I was told that I would receive an immediate refund for the Kaiser services but not for the bank fees. I waited 10 days without receiving a refund, then contacted member services once more only to be told by a rep (Rudy Osti) that I would now have to wait up to a month or more before they would be able to refund my money. At this point my bank account has been in the red for over 2 weeks, and my overdrawn funds keep adding up, totaling $255 at this point. I have not received any services even though Kaiser has kept my money, and now I have a substantial problem with bank fees as well. I had been a loyal customer with Kaiser, with uninterrupted coverage for over 10 years prior to this incident.

The $254 I was mischarged resulted in overdrawn bank fees totaling $255. That makes a total out of pocket expense of $509. Obviously the amount of stress regarding something like this is very high. I have excellent credit so I do my best to maintain it. A situation like this puts my credit in jeopardy as well as an immense stress on the rest of my life. Because of my negative funds, I may now have to move out of our existing apartment and find other housing.

Elizabeth of Portland ME (01/18/08)
I was on a $1,500.00 deductible plan which covered an annual preventative care physical for which I was supposed to provide a copay at time of service. I went to my annual physical and received care and while in the doctor's office, I was told by the doctor it would be covered. I also asked at the payment desk whether the labs and other care I was about to receive at the visit would be part of the covered preventative services and was told by all Kaiser employees who I asked that it would be covered. A few months later, I got a bill for $130. This bill was for labs and services (regular stuff like charges for having blood drawn, lipids, thyroid test etc.) that I had been assured when I was at the appointment would be free. I called to dispute the charges but it is really no use with Kaiser. They say that I have to pay it even though I was told that it would be free. The exact same thing happened to 2 friends of mine who are also Kaiser members. They both were advised by their doctor at the time of the appointment to have a service and when they asked how much it would be they were told it would be free. Then they received bills later. One friend was also charged for services/care that she did not even receive and only after a few hours on the phone did she get them to take that off her bill. I do not recommend Kaiser health insurance.

Nancy of Yorba Linda CA (12/01/07)
My 15-year-old daughter was diagnosed with spinal scoliosis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Kaiser told me she could be seen by specialists in the field, but that there was no specialist close to our home. We must drive 70 miles round trip just to see a doctor qualified to treat her. We live in Orange County California. Can you believe they do not have a qualified doctor in all of Orange County to treat such common diseases?

My daughter misses school and must wait a month for appointments. The drive takes 2 hours because of traffic and sometimes she gets carsick. When I need to talk to the doctor about her injectible medication, I sometimes have to wait 2 days. I have also been told that she may need back surgery and that there is only one doctor qualified to do it. A quick check on him shows that he had a malpractice case filed and awarded against him.

Rose of Woodland CA (11/29/07)
I'd had two miscarriages, and two Kaiser Permanente doctors didn't treat as high risk pregnancy at 37 years of age. One doctor told me I could get hit by a bus tomorrow along with the rest of my family, when I had a concern about the cord being wrapped around my baby's neck at 7 and a 1/2 months pregnant. I finally had a c-section after my water broke but no delivery after 24 hours.

After a day I got cellulitis; nobody told me what it was until a nurse slipped and told me. My legs and stomach became so huge and a large amount of pain caused me to cry for three days, and theyonly gave me 1 to 2 Vicodin for pain. After 3 days they gave me antibiotics interveniously, tried several ones; then 2 together got rid of most of it. After 1 week I was sent home with different antibiotics and vicodin; these other antibiotics did not work, and I got it again and had to go to the ER, costing more money. They put me 6 different antibiotics, and this after I kept telling them the whole time, what worked in the hospital. Spent over $300 in doctor fees and antibiotics that did not work. Have blood in stomach from c-section that still hurts, and they won't prescribe any more pain med, saying I will get addicted.

They have cut me off all together. Now I'm getting severe headaches, and the headache clinic has not even contacted me. I have been falling down having chest pains and not being able to see properly. I cry just coming out of the appt. because they tell me to leave, and they say my pain should be done with. The doctor tried to prescribe something else, but I have no more money to pay for something that might not work. I take vicodin for migranes already and never got addicted; it's in my records. I would go to a different place but my husband's work only is limited to certain plans, and the only other one didn't pan out. 

Ann of Redwood City CA (10/02/07)
If you have cancer, do NOT go to Kaiser. I'm stuck with Kaiser because of insurance. My oncologist does NOT follow up with me with my questions unless they receive several calls from me. She is more reactive than proactive with my case (good thing I am in the medical field so I can suggests things that she could do for me, rather than wait for her to do it). She started me on my chemotherapy without letting me know (the plan was to hold chemotherapy, next thing you know, I receive this phone call from them that I'm starting chemotherapy in 2 days!!). I called her up, but she had gone on vacation for 2 weeks!!

C N of Redwood City CA (10/02/07)
Avoid Kaiser as much as you can! I had surgery 4 months ago and was hospitalized, and they collected the fees for that. Last month, I had another ourpatient surgery and was charged regular fees because apparently we have not yet met our deductible! We called member services to ask why my payment 4 months ago has not been reflected yet, and they said it takes a while for them to code the charges and submit the payments!! It's been months but their records still do not reflect that I've already met my deductible and should not be charged anymore!!

It is ridiculous because they take our money at the time of the service, yet for them to keep their system updated, it takes forever! In the meantime, patients are continued to be charged unnecessarily (even though they have already met their deductible), because of Kaiser's SLOWNESS!! I mean, what about those patients who do not have any extra money and use their credit cards to pay for services and accrue interests unecessarily (because they were charged unnecessarily!

Linda of Coulterville CA (03/10/07)

We had Kaiser through his job. Well, after 39 year's of service, Albertson's closed there warehouse, and took away our medical. Well, I applied for Kaiser, and they denied us because we have high blood pressure, which is under control, and we had it when we had kaiser already.

Ron of Loganville, GA (03/06/06)
While enrolling in employer provided healthcare coverage, I mistakenly answered one of the questions on the form incorrect. The question asked whether I, or any of my dependents, had taken prescription drugs in the last twelve (12) months. To the best of my ability, I answered the question "No."

Ten (10) months later, the insurance company discovers the mistake and informs me that not only are they dropping my coverage, but will be billing me for the costs incurred by the plan.

Gerardo of Long Beach CA (01/06/06)
My wife Maria needed to talk to a Psychologist on Dec 31, 2005., and was sent to KMHC as a "voluntary" patient so she could have some therapy sessions and professional help as well. Unfotunately, after a great start in Unit 3, following rules and being nice she was given drugs to treat her "Depression" and everything has been downhill since then. Now she is being held as an "involuntary" patient in Unit 2.

Christine of Coto De Caza, CA (07/18/05)
My son went to the Emergency Room for care.  Kaiser paid the hospital minus our $50 deductable, however, Kaiser felt the physician only deserved $44 out of the $253 billed amount.

Imagine an emergency room doctor being paid only $44 for an emergency visit!

Bernadette of Woodlawn, MD (06/08/05)
I went to the doctor for what was diagnosed as a viral infection of the throat, causing laryngitis. I also went in because I have a bunion on my left foot and am having difficulty functioning and walking.

The doctor acted as if she was afraid to touch me.  She stood back, looked at my foot, and prescribed some Motrin for my throat. She stated that it was nothing and that I will be able to speak within the next day or two.

Well, that wasn't the case.  I still had laryngitis and she insisted that I go back to work in customer service knowing that I could not speak.

I put in a complaint with Kaiser administrative office and they said they will document the concern. I immediately switched to another doctor but Kaiser basically told me there was nothing they could do.

So they gave the ok for me to go back to work limping and not being able to talk. 

Larry of Sacramento, CA (04/25/05)
Kaiser scheduled an appointment for us to receive a letter to assist my daughter in switching high schools. They instructed my wife to use my daughter's membership card and pay the $20 co-pay for the appointment. They had my wife watch a 10-minute video and then told her that they couldn't give her the letter!

After the terrible service they have given my family, my wife cancelled our coverage with Kaiser. They starting billing us for nonpayment and said they would go back and date our cancellation to before the appointment.  They are now trying to charge us $638 for non-member services and have sent the charge to a collection agency that harasses us day and night and is ruining our credit.

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