Kaiser vs Blue Cross

[SecondAttempt]

Thank you to everyone for the replies! It is all helpful even if it has not made one way or the other the clear choice.

 

[walkinwood]

We have a KP bronze HSA plan in Denver and are generally happy with them. Like the OP, we're quite healthy, but the docs/specialists/PT have been more than competent when we've needed them.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Thank you to everyone for the replies! It is all helpful even if it has not made one way or the other the clear choice.

The care may also vary from region to region. You might want to check local ratings like Yelp for more info on how satisfied people in your local area are. IRL I do know people who seem happy with Kaiser but no one in my city. The ones with care provided in my city all seem to have the same horror stories as we have had, or worse.

Anothereader mentioned in different thread that some areas Kaiser contracts to be the county Medicaid provider. I suspect in our area that was why the ER and urgent cares were always so jam packed with people who looked like they were from very low income households.

 

[SecondAttempt]

The care may also vary from region to region. You might want to check local ratings like Yelp for more info on how satisfied people in your local area are.

I've asked coworkers and most seem happy with both companies. I live on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kaiser flies you to Honolulu for anything more serious than a hang nail and pays for everything including a companion in many cases and putting them up in a hotel. So it does not seem like they are taking the cheap way out here. I think BC is similar but I am not sure.

 

[Sunnymar]

The people I know with Kaiser loved it until they starting having medical problems. They soon hate it and get off it ASAP.

I've never had a serious medical problem, if/when I do, I want to choose the best physician available, not be limited by an HMO. I will continue to choose Medigap Plan F or G HD for that reason. The premium is well worth it for my peace of mind.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

The people I know with Kaiser loved it until they starting having medical problems. They soon hate it and get off it ASAP.

I've never had a serious medical problem, if/when I do, I want to choose the best physician available, not be limited by an HMO. I will continue to choose Medigap Plan F or G HD for that reason. The premium is well worth it for my peace of mind.

These days it is not just the best physician but also hospital beds. One of our parents has an issue being on an HMO plan and having to go to a hospital far away from home that is in network because the local ones are over capacity due to Covid. They are pretty sad right now they chose the HMO option and were cautioning us against it. I don't think with their health issues they will ever be able to switch to a plan F or G now.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I can relate to people loving Kaiser. We never thought of moving outside the Kaiser network because that was all that we had known, even though I was getting extremely bad specialist care. When we moved, we tried to get on Medigap for my husband but since he was past the 67, he could not switch out due to pre-existing conditions. It is our biggest regret that we did not even consider going outside of Kaiser system when he became Medicare eligible. HMO system - never again.