San Diego: Kaiser vs Sharp reviews
Before deciding on health insurance, do your due diligence. Generally speaking, seek out a healthcare network that provides you with access to many doctors, a variety of specialists and hospitals as well as urgent care centers. And it should be close to where you reside.
Other considerations may include:
- How often do you need professional health care
- The estimated costs for annual and monthly premiums
- The options offered
- The prescription drug coverage
- The doctors covered and accepting new patients in the plan
As part of your research, an online search for reviews of the networks to see what their members say about each plan is especially important.
If you are currently living in San Diego and are looking for healthcare services or are interested in changing providers for your health insurance, two possible options are plans offered by Kaiser Permanente and Sharp.
More than just “bad luck”
An online search for reviews of Kaiser, finds that Kaiser has a bad reputation among many of its patients and some of its former physicians.
Patient complaints run the gamut from long wait times in the ER, decreased access to services as well as contracted specialists, making it difficult to get an appointment, and longer waiting times for office visits.
According to SPF Insurance headquartered in San Diego, Sharp Health Plan receives consistently high ratings from its members ; patients rate the quality of medical care as well as their overall experience as very good to excellent. Unlike Kaiser, Sharp is a local, non-profit, commercial health plan that’s been serving the residents of San Diego since 1992. Patients give their hospitals high marks for their experienced and patient-centered providers.
Sharp has seven hospitals in San Diego compared to Kaiser which has two and UCSD with four. In addition, Sharp Health Plan has been the highest member-rated health plan in California for eight straight years with its members giving it the highest rating for health care and specialists among reporting health plans in the state.
Did you find out too late?
Unfortunately, when searching online reviews of Kaiser, you may also come across member complaints about incompetence or negligence on the part of Kaiser physicians resulting in injury or even the death of some patients.
If you are a Kaiser patient that has suffered from an injury due to what you believe is negligence or incompetence on the part of a physician within the HMO network, you may have a potential malpractice case.
Malpractice lawsuits vs. Kaiser are complicated because member lawsuits must go through the HMO’s binding arbitration process instead of in a court of law. To ensure the success of your case, consult an attorney experienced in that arbitration process.
Scott S. Harris, San Diego medical malpractice attorney, has many years of experience when it comes to handling cases involving Kaiser’s arbitration process.