Yearly Archives: 2006

Medicare warns Kaiser on kidney care

Coverage at S.F. center is at risk unless compliance with federal rules is proved. By Dorsey Griffith — Sacramento Bee Medical Writer The Medicare program has threatened to halt coverage for all end-stage kidney care at Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco transplant center unless the health plan can convince regulators it has complied with federal regulations.… Read More »

Two patients sue Kaiser over halt to transplants

From the L.A. Times: Two Kaiser Permanente patients filed suit Monday against the giant HMO following the suspension of its Northern California kidney transplant program. The suit was filed by Irvine lawyer Lawrence Eisenberg on behalf of patients Lurena Fiore and Debra Adams, but it is seeking class-action status. It claims negligence, fraud and misrepresentation,… Read More »

Kaiser Permanente found liable in retaliation case

From the L.A. Times: By Charles Ornstein, Times Staff Writer June 3, 2006 A Los Angeles County jury found Friday that Kaiser Permanente retaliated against one of its emergency room physicians after he raised concerns about the quality of care at Kaiser’s Bellflower Medical Center. Kaiser’s affiliated medical group placed Dr. Mark L. Woods on… Read More »

Kaiser Thrive Ad Parodies Revisited

With all the recent scandals at Kaiser Permanente, such as the Kidney Transplant Debacle and The Mystery of the Missing Dead Baby, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our roots: namely Kaiser’s Thrive ad campaign. The short version for new visitors is that Kaiser Colorado lost its knickers in a little… Read More »

Health-care execs diagnose Kaiser ills after kidney failure

From San Francisco Business Times: Communication and administrative errors that doomed Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco kidney-transplant unit have raised fears among health-care observers about broader management problems at the health-care giant and questions about the role its affiliated medical group played in the fiasco. Kaiser said May 12 that it would shutter the program in… Read More »

Kaiser Told to Fix Problems With Kidney Patient Hotline

From the L.A. Times: Some seeking answers on the transition to UC transplant programs express frustration over the poor quality of data. By Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers May 18, 2006 State regulators Wednesday ordered Kaiser Permanente to fix communication foul-ups stemming from the abrupt suspension of its Northern California kidney transplant… Read More »