Health insurance change to Kaiser

[Guest guest]

Looking for any feedback from anyone who lives in SF Bay Area (East Bay -

Berkeley) and has Kaiser. For the past 20+ years I have had PPO insurance

either with Blue Cross or HealthNet. Due to some recent changes I have to get

new insurance.

The options I have are Anthem Blue Cross at about $740.00 a month or Kaiser for

about half of that. Having never been to Kaiser before and considering I would

have to change to a new Primary Care Giver I am looking for any recommendations.

I would be open to either Richmond, Oakland Kaiser or in S.F..

Look forward to your help and support.

Thank you.

[Guest guest]

To whomever you are,I have only heard great things about all the docs in the HIV module at Kaiser SF. Mine is Follansbee, well known in the community and a great doc, but I doubt he's accepting new patients. That goes for all the others I know there also. But knowing that department, you can't go wrong with any one you're assigned to. If you don't like him, you can always switch. Good Luck.LarryFrom: "pozinkensington" <mitch4homes@...> Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 11:09:27 AMSubject: Health insurance change to Kaiser

Looking for any feedback from anyone who lives in SF Bay Area (East Bay - Berkeley) and has Kaiser. For the past 20+ years I have had PPO insurance either with Blue Cross or HealthNet. Due to some recent changes I have to get new insurance.

The options I have are Anthem Blue Cross at about $740.00 a month or Kaiser for about half of that. Having never been to Kaiser before and considering I would have to change to a new Primary Care Giver I am looking for any recommendations.

I would be open to either Richmond, Oakland Kaiser or in S.F..

Look forward to your help and support.

Thank you.

[Guest guest]

Hi. I would read the online articles and reviews. Anthem does not do well in the reviews. Kaiser, by contrast, does extremely well. See the Consumer Reports review of HMOs.

http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/10/hmos-do-well-in-new-rankings-but-arent-for-everyone.html

Comparing the two HMO plans:

"1" is worst and "5" is best in the rankings. Kaiser Northern California is widely viewed as one of the better HMOs in the country. You have to be careful in your choice of a primary care physician (PCP), so I would ask friends and colleagues and doctors who they would recommend and why. I have used Kaiser for 40 years, starting the Northern Calif in the 1970s and then Mid-Atlantic Kaiser since 1990. Also, since the plan costs are so different, be sure to compare the costs of each service. Kaiser is a non-profit corporation, so doctors focus on medicine and not on selling stuff. You also need to get opinions on the three centers that you are considering. If I moved back to the Bay Area I would definitely pick Kaiser and definitely NOT pick Anthem Blue Cross.

In a message dated 3/15/2012 3:37:36 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, mitch4homes@... writes:

Looking for any feedback from anyone who lives in SF Bay Area (East Bay - Berkeley) and has Kaiser. For the past 20+ years I have had PPO insurance either with Blue Cross or HealthNet. Due to some recent changes I have to get new insurance.The options I have are Anthem Blue Cross at about $740.00 a month or Kaiser for about half of that. Having never been to Kaiser before and considering I would have to change to a new Primary Care Giver I am looking for any recommendations.I would be open to either Richmond, Oakland Kaiser or in S.F..Look forward to your help and support.Thank you.