r/KaiserPermanente

In an April 2026 letter of agreement, DMHC focused on Kaiser's violations of the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act re: Covid vaccines, dating to 2023. Here's the detailed letter:

https://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/enfactions/docs/5097/1778257694677.pdf

Kaiser does a lot of hard things well, so I've never really understood their issues with vaccines. Whatever they are, I hope they improve moving forward.

I made an appointment for lab work today but was rejected when I went in because I didn't have the go ahead from my doctor? Probably the 2nd this happened but the system allows you to sign up for lab work anyways which is the confusing part. Shouldn't there be safeguards to check your doc gave you the go ahead? Am I not the only one messing up the steps here?

I’m beyond frustrated with Kaiser’s Behavioral Health department. I’ve had an ADHD diagnosis for six years now and still haven't found a treatment plan that actually gives me much relief.

Finding what works in psychiatry, whether it's for ADHD, anxiety, depression etc. - requires trial and error. Adjusting doses, dealing with side effects, or tweaking meds when they stop working is just part of the process.

Having zero timely access to a provider while in that ‘trial and error’ phase, is a huge problem. It’s a 5-minute check-in that could easily resolve a lot of issues quickly and get the patient right back on track but instead, they’re pushing it out sometimes by five weeks.

My psychiatrist recently started me on a non-traditional ADHD medication at the lowest dose. It worked really well for my emotional regulation at first, but after a few weeks, it became completely ineffective(because it’s the lowest dose and is supposed to eventually be bumped up).

I messaged my provider explaining that I had zero negative side effects and noticed a big temporary improvement, but I believe my body adjusted and it was time to bump it up. Instead of adjusting it they told me to schedule an appointment. Her assistant called to schedule, but the earliest appointment was five weeks away.

They even suggested I switch to a provider with ‘better availability’, only to offer me someone booked out even further!

It is completely counterproductive. If Kaiser is this overwhelmed, I don't understand why they don’t offer outside referrals for psychiatrists, like they do for therapy, instead of leaving their patients in limbo for weeks at a time. 😩

At what point in the internal hiring process is your current manager notified you submitted an application to another department?

I am thinking of applying to another department, but don’t want any negative retaliation from my manager.

Any insight is appreciated!

Shame on you. This has to be some kind of HIPAA violation. I can hear everything you’re saying. Patient first names, asking personal details “are you married? Live alone?” who their PCP is, “sounds like your depression is getting worse” “your xray shows arthritis in both your knees” etc. You’re not disclosing to patients that you’re in a crowded coffee shop.

I’m going to put in my earbuds so I don’t continue to overhear anything. I could continue to listen in and catch your name and report you somehow but I don’t feel comfortable hearing patient info like this.

EDIT: I ended up leaving and thinking about it more and it’s definitely a HIPAA violation. I know for a fact that his laptop was open without a privacy screen and he was looking at patient records. “I’m looking at your X-rays now” “I can see you’re on x y z medications”. His laptop was facing the interior of the coffee shop. If I stood over his shoulder briefly I absolutely could have seen these peoples full names while he spoke with them. He said out loud their first name, their weight, their xray results, their prescription medications, and a few other things but those are the worst ones. I didn’t catch his name but I think I know enough about his employment specifics to report him. I’m at least going to try because this was fucked up. He kept telling patients “I’m here at Kaiser Walnut Creek” and uhm no hello brother, you’re in a crowded coffee shop.

Sidenote; I work in healthcare IT. Setting aside the ethics of it, the laptop thing alone is 100% a HIPAA violation.

EDIT PT2: I called Kaiser’s Ethics and Compliance line. I gave all of the details I could remember including exact times I was at the coffee shop and the representative was a) gobsmacked at how egregious this was and b) absolutely certain that they’d be able to identify him based on what I remembered. I’m going to get a follow up from the case manager to find out how they handled it.

I have Kaiser Bronze 60 HMO (if that’s relevant) and need a follow-up appointment to confirm/manage a missed miscarriage. I currently have an appointment scheduled for next week, but unfortunately I have a mandatory work onboarding at the same time that cannot be rescheduled.

I called Kaiser to move the appointment and was told there’s basically nothing available for the next several weeks and to keep calling in the mornings for cancellations. Has anyone had luck getting a last-minute cancellation for Women’s Health/OB-GYN? Or has Kaiser ever referred/authorized you to an outside affiliated provider when they couldn’t get you in within a reasonable timeframe?
I’m in Orange County and willing to go to pretty much any Kaiser location nearby. Just trying to figure out my best option without waiting weeks for follow-up care. ❤️

(Please try to be understanding—I know choosing work over a miscarriage follow-up probably makes it sound like my priorities are questionable lol. Unfortunately, this isn’t my first miscarriage. At this point, the job has more of a future than this pregnancy does 🫠 *if I don’t laugh I’*ll cry.)

Update- They were able to reschedule me an appointment on Sept. 18th! I asked if they could provide an authorized out-of-network provider and that prompted an appointment with Kaiser.

My physician says that Federal and State Laws require patients who take opioids to see their physician in person twice per year. I can’t seem to find that law anywhere. Does anyone know where I can find it?

Thank you in advance.

So I’ve been on lamotrigine for over 7 years now and I’ve ran out of my medication. I called a week before my meds ran out and they told me I already picked up my medication 4 days ago so they can’t refill it yet. I’m so incredibly disappointed, the withdrawal is horrible and each time I call they get more annoyed and one lady hung up on me this morning.

Not having the medicine in my system is triggering my mania and it’s really horrible. I’ve worked so hard to minimize it and I haven’t had an episode in quite a while and now it’s back and I guess I’m sad. Feel like all my hard work was for nothing

I’ve kind of given up on the app and just calling the departments directly because the layout changed and not for the better. Navigating it is pretty tough especially with my withdrawal side effects and mania.

Has anybody else ever had problems refilling medications? I just don’t get why they make it so complicated and frustrating… like obviously if I had gotten my medication I wouldn’t be calling multiple departments everyday

I didn't know what this lab was until I left Kaiser for a few years where it was routinely ordered by practitioners. Now I am back at Kaiser and I would like to have a CMP included in the labs to monitor my follicular lymphoma. What do I have to ask for?
Why don't they do this?

Thanks

Hey y’all, hoping someone can clear up whether this is a real policy or if KP is being difficult on purpose.

I’ve been seeing the same out-of-network psychiatrist (because KP psych is bootyhole) for the last three years, and getting the same Rx’s of 15mg Ritalin and 100mg Zoloft. Out of nowhere, KP refused my last refills in July and initially said it was because it was “suspicious”, but is now changing to say that it’s because “under current KP policy, we do not fill controlled substances from outside providers”. I’m not sure when or how this changed, I asked for them to direct me to the dated policy change but was of course ignored. Is this worth pursuing with member services? Or is this actually a new policy other people are dealing with too?

I’m in NorCal if that helps.

Thanks y’all.

EDIT: I'm a self-pay member ($466 a month!!!) so between this and other issues I've had with KP I'm prob just gonna switch to Cigna. I appreciate everyone's feedback! It's been very helpful to try to make sense of a very confusing situation!

Hello all! I work for Kaiser and also a member/patient. I will go on maternity leave soon and will have to apply for disability. How long does it take to get paid? I have not deal with ROI as a patient and I'm really nervous about all of this. Thank you in advance!

Coincediance or not? Its funny that once Kaiser received my grievance, days later, I am now locked out of parts of my medical record accessibility on their website and app. Ive been with them 20yrs and this has nvr occurred and its my 1st grievance letter. I can log in but it says permission denied. Of course they said its an IT issue, however Ive spoken with a few Kaiser friends and they have no problem seeing their records on the app or via pc. ​ Weird right? Am I overthinking?

Hi all, I am an internal employee of almost 2 years and I applied for an internal RN position in the same city/hospital (currently from inpatient, applying to outpatient clinic) within Kaiser, and my application status has been stuck at “eligibility review in progress” for a month after confirming an interest in the bidding process through an email they sent.

Is this a normal timeline/wait time for a possible chance at an interview? Or does this mean this job is already going to someone else since it’s almost been a month since applying?

Thank you in advance, just a very burnt out nurse trying to get out :(

20weeks anatomy scan
Is this a regular ultrasound at Building 1 like normal or is it done with the Radiology department?
Mine was scheduled as "Maternal-fetus ultrasound" in Building 1
I've heard it should be done at the hospital radiology department.
Any advice?

Hi,

My wife is in early 80's, needs cataract surgery in both eyes. Right eye is lazy eye.

A. ANESTHESIA

She is worried about anesthesia as in other operations/procedures in past, she gets very nauseous after full anesthesia and takes quite a well for her to get over it.

Curious whether people get full anesthesia or lighter sedation, etc.

Would be great to hear your experience with this; what type did you get and how did it go.

B. SURGERY ON ONE OR BOTH EYES

Would like to hear from anyone that had surgery done on both eyes at one time, how did it go, and would you suggest doing both at one time or separately.

Thanks for all input!

Mark

I’m trying to schedule a mental health appointment through Kaiser and I’m running into a frustrating issue. I don’t mind waiting for an appointment, but Kaiser keeps directing me to third-party services/apps instead of letting me schedule with a psychiatrist through Kaiser itself.

I had a really difficult experience going through a third-party provider before, especially with getting my existing ADHD diagnosis and psychiatric history recognized. Kaiser already has my medical records, including my ADHD diagnosis and previous psychiatric treatment, so I’d really prefer to see a Kaiser psychiatrist who can access all of that directly.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Were you able to get Kaiser to schedule you with one of their own psychiatrists instead of an outside provider, and if so, how did you get around the third-party referral process?

This community is filled with thousands of complaints and yet, there are other choices for health care. Choose other health plans! Why pay for this!

Hi there,

I synced my Kaiser health panels with my Oura app. I’m going on over a week now and it still says “ processing your records”. I know with my Apple health, the sync with Kaiser was much more immediate. Is this a common issue?

Thanks!