Monthly Archives: April 2012

Why isn’t Kaiser less expensive?

An interesting podcast from Sarah Varney of KQED’s The California Report, on why Kaiser’s premiums have risen in recent years to levels often on a par with traditional health insurance rates. Among others, she interviews KP CEO George Halvorson, who as usual would like his customers to disbelieve their own experiences in favor of his… Read More »

Catch Up Post — Part 3

So many scandals, so little time. Enjoy Part 3 of our belated Kaiser Permanente News Roundup. Kaiser involved in Pay-to-Play scheme intended to provide lobbyists with off-the-record access to Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the Washington Post’s reporters and editors. So what else is new? The Colorado Division of Insurance fined Kaiser $367,000… Read More »

Catch Up Post — Part 2

Part 2 of the Kaiser Permanente stories we missed during our hiatus from posting: After an initial refusal by Kaiser, California Department of Managed Health Care officials finally obtained the documents needed to complete investigation of a complaint that call center scripts sometimes lead to misdiagnoses and delayed care. Two Bay Area residents filed a… Read More »

They want me back

If there is anyone left out there who still finds it difficult to believe that Kaiser Permanente is nothing more than a huge, uncaring bureaucracy that values money more than the needs of individual patients, the following letter I received from Kaiser VP Mitch Ross should finally put those doubts to rest forever: They want… Read More »