3 ms·

What I think of when I think of the history of Kaiser is: They are pioneers of making a profit off providing less healthcare. For reference, see the taped conv

What I think of when I think of the history of Kaiser is: They are pioneers of making a profit off providing less healthcare. For reference, see the taped conversation of Richard Nixon https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Transcript_of_taped_conversation_between_President_Richard_Nixon_and_John_D._Ehrlichman_(1971)_that_led_to_the_HMO_act_of_1973 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Transcript_of_taped_conversat...: And: Details about the deal Nixon made for his friend Kaiser: https://thecriticalaye.com/2011/08/31/skyrocketing-health-care-costs-thanks-president-nixon/ https://thecriticalaye.com/2011/08/31/skyrocketing-health-ca...

stuaxo 9y ago
Jeremy Hunt - health sec of the UK has been visiting to see if their model can be applied to the UK. Before being in charge of health he wrote a book about how health should be privatised, since he has been in the position the NHS has been in almost constant crisis.
- crdoconnor 9y ago
  Jeremy Hunt caused the crisis as a stepping stone to privatisation which is why he's the most disliked frontline politician in the UK: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-is-the-most-disliked-frontline-british-politician-of-any-party-a-new-poll-shows-a6874846.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-i...
- DanBC 9y ago
  We've already seen increased independent sector provision. Drug and alcohol services got taken out of the NHS and given to public health. Local authorities had to run competitive tendering. Some of them sent the work back to NHS providers, but many are now provided by community interest companies like Change Grow Live, or private for profit providers like Priory Group. At the moment one third of patients detained under section of the mental health act are in independent sector hospitals. We have organisations like LivewellSW (they're very good) providing healthcare across a large region. People don't really understand how far along we are with privatisation.
Stratoscope 9y ago
For another side of the story, a friend has stage 4 breast cancer which metastasized to her spine, requiring back surgery and very expensive ongoing treatment. She was on a high-deductible, high-copay Bronze plan last year, and Kaiser waived all the deductibles and copays for about eight months of treatment, up through the beginning of this year when she could get on a plan more suitable for her needs. I'm not saying you're wrong, of course. I know little about the organization's history. But I was favorably impressed with how they've treated her, both medically and financially.
- swasheck 9y ago
  I've never been anything but impressed with Kaiser.
- blacksmith_tb 9y ago
  My experience has been similar, KP paid out $250K when I was run over biking to work, most of it out-of-network, and were very reasonable during the settlement process - they recovered only half what they'd paid. Now, day-to-day, for smaller health issues, I would say that they don't always shine quite as bright, but overall they have been fine.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
swasheck 9y ago
These are very interesting reads and I can see how they can certainly color a conversation against KP. This is a bad look for the origins of KP, but hopefully we can allow that companies, like people, can change from their questionable origins (VW?).

stuaxo 9y ago

Jeremy Hunt - health sec of the UK has been visiting to see if their model can be applied to the UK. Before being in charge of health he wrote a book about how health should be privatised, since he has been in the position the NHS has been in almost constant crisis.

crdoconnor 9y ago
Jeremy Hunt caused the crisis as a stepping stone to privatisation which is why he's the most disliked frontline politician in the UK: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-is-the-most-disliked-frontline-british-politician-of-any-party-a-new-poll-shows-a6874846.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-i...
DanBC 9y ago
We've already seen increased independent sector provision. Drug and alcohol services got taken out of the NHS and given to public health. Local authorities had to run competitive tendering. Some of them sent the work back to NHS providers, but many are now provided by community interest companies like Change Grow Live, or private for profit providers like Priory Group. At the moment one third of patients detained under section of the mental health act are in independent sector hospitals. We have organisations like LivewellSW (they're very good) providing healthcare across a large region. People don't really understand how far along we are with privatisation.

Stratoscope 9y ago

For another side of the story, a friend has stage 4 breast cancer which metastasized to her spine, requiring back surgery and very expensive ongoing treatment. She was on a high-deductible, high-copay Bronze plan last year, and Kaiser waived all the deductibles and copays for about eight months of treatment, up through the beginning of this year when she could get on a plan more suitable for her needs. I'm not saying you're wrong, of course. I know little about the organization's history. But I was favorably impressed with how they've treated her, both medically and financially.

swasheck 9y ago
I've never been anything but impressed with Kaiser.
blacksmith_tb 9y ago
My experience has been similar, KP paid out $250K when I was run over biking to work, most of it out-of-network, and were very reasonable during the settlement process - they recovered only half what they'd paid. Now, day-to-day, for smaller health issues, I would say that they don't always shine quite as bright, but overall they have been fine.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

swasheck 9y ago

These are very interesting reads and I can see how they can certainly color a conversation against KP. This is a bad look for the origins of KP, but hopefully we can allow that companies, like people, can change from their questionable origins (VW?).