Kaiser VS. Blue Cross

[Bellithorp]

I currently have Kaiser through my work and my daughter has dual coverage kaiser for her CF. I am starting to get extremely irritated with the lack of concern or expertise from Kaiser. Has anyone experienced both blue cross and kaiser? We are looking to switch but I want to know what the BEST health insurance is for CF. I am sick of pushing for certain medications for my daughter as well as being discriminated and looked down at while I am with her at Kaiser.

When we went to the hospital last November I had to yell at a nurse who tried to tell me how to parent my child after she rudley advised me that "I just didn't know what I was doing" After that on several occasions I have told her Pulm. Dr that I am uncomfortable with certain treatments or the fact he keeps raising her Ezyme levels, and no one seems to care what I think. I am the parent and caretaker of my child and by all means if I am going to be paying for dual coverage health insurance I demand the respect I should be getting.

It has become so bad that now I just take their advice with a grain of salt. I absolutely hate Kaiser, they are so extremely unprofessional and rude.


Please share your thoughts, I am desperate to switch her insurance!

 

[ksy8384]

I have CF and I also have Kaiser ins. The change for me was a life saver. I found a Kaiser Pulm who admitted I needed to be at the CF center but he would be there if I needed him. I love the fact that I can email him and get a response within the hour usually. I have also had him call when he thought the situation warranted it.

I have been able to get all of my meds, some need prior approval but that's the same with most ins companies. I have had issues with getting them to understand just what I need. 7% saline. I just have to work with Pharm to get it right.

My co-pays are excellent and I can afford to take all my meds. I couldn't always say that in the past.

As for the hospital nurse, what does she have to do with Kaiser? Here our hospitals are contracted with Kaiser but the staff are not Kaiser employees.

 

[sdeuber]

sorry to hear that. Where are you located? I am in Oakland CA and go to the local CF clinic headed up by Dr Quick. THEY ARE AWESOME!

 

[keefer11]

Yes, where is your CF Center? I think it really depends on which Kaiser you go to. I loved Oakland's CF center for my pediatric care with Dr Shay(he is AMAZING) but didn't care for their adult center. I'm now at the Santa Clara Center for my adult care and it is great. I can email my doctor, call my doctor and he will email within 24 hours and generally calls back the same day. I haven't had issues getting prescriptions, sometimes the amount of a prescription has been difficult.(I can only get 100 vials of albuterol at a time which is not 3 months worth).

You may need o try out a different center and you may have a WAY better experience. It's more of a drive for me to go to Santa Clara but its totally worth it since I actually trust and like my doctor.

What hospitals would you go to with Blue Cross? I've heard Dr Hardy out of Children's hospital Oakland is pretty good. But like I said Dr Shay is awesome for pediatrics at Kaiser. He was able to deal with my parents and me(which is not easy, were a difficult bunch). Good luck!