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Randy
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Joined: 18 Dec 2001
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Randy
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PostTue Feb 02, 2010 7:16 pm 
I also switched to GH this year, based on input from co-workers who have been very impressed with their doctors and the system overall (primarily Overlake). That, and I pocket an extra $250 a month with the lower premium.

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Tom
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Tom
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PostTue Feb 02, 2010 7:36 pm 
I used to have GH years ago. No complaints here. Only reason I switched was my new employer didn't offer them. As a self employed indvidual now, I pay for my own health care and GH has an individual plan I'm very tempted to switch to. It has a fairly high deductible ($2000) but the monthly premium savings of $200 / month ($2400 / year) vs. other plans more than covers the deductible.

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sarbar
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Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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sarbar
Living The Dream
PostTue Feb 02, 2010 8:20 pm 
I am one of those who REALLY liked GH. I never felt short changed by any means when we belonged. Frankly, that they were able to properly diagnosis my migrianes I was having was amazing. I had been having Vertigo Migraines for some time before joining GH and had been given multiple wrong diagnoses by other doctors I had seen outside of GH. Not only did they do the MRI's, they sent me to a very good neurologist who listened to me, worked with me and took me seriously. No one had done that before. The type of migraine I was having is woefully misunderstood, under studied and most doctors don't even know about it. In the end it took about $45 of co-payments to be able to know my life would eventually balance back out and that I could get my life back. I worked with him and since then, knock on wood, I haven't had another bout of that type of migraine (though I still have lesser ones). I never felt that I was shortchanged or given a lesser experience either. Rather, they did a lot for something that wasn't easy to prove (unlike say a broken leg that is obvious). During one episode my husband was able to drive me in while still in the throes of it - and I had multiple doctors come in to study me - they wanted to learn about something none of them had seen before. (Such as studying my eyes while suffering full blown vertigo) The other thing I liked was the efficiency - I rarely waited. I liked that. No wasting of my time. Get in, check in and be seen. Not left in the waiting room for 30 minutes or more and then 30 more in the office! Love my current doctor I see privately now....but yeah, there are visits I wait and wait and wait. She is over booked and I wonder how that woman has time to breathe.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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Layback
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Joined: 16 Mar 2007
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Layback
Cascades Expatriate
PostWed Feb 03, 2010 4:49 pm 
Make no mistake about it; there are some very, very good doctors at GD. I have a good friend who was once a PCP there before she moved to Wyoming. The doctors are subject to the governing rules of the HMO and need to practice within the confines of them. If you're young & healthy it's a great insurance plan. Get sick and you might be better served with a differnent insurance.

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Allison
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostWed Feb 03, 2010 4:50 pm 
John Gayman at Central is quite good. Practice may be full though--often the really good ones are full up.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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Brucester
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Brucester
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PostFri Feb 12, 2016 1:02 pm 
Long overdue..... Started the search today. Polyclinic Madison/DT lists. Lists with faces and schools..... dizzy.gif eny miny miney mo lol.gif

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AlpineRose
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AlpineRose
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PostFri Feb 12, 2016 2:02 pm 
If she's accepting new patients, I can recommend Susan Baumgaertel at the Polyclinic.

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AlpineRose
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AlpineRose
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PostFri Feb 12, 2016 2:09 pm 
Is anyone as concerned, worried and dismayed as I am that a merger of not-for-profit Group Health with for-profit behemoth Kaiser Permanente is imminent? It's astonishing this has not gotten more press. Seems the more internet twitter chatter, the less news we actually receive. Group Health is and has been the ONLY Medicare Advantage plan with a five star rating in King County. I can't imagine how that will remain under KP.

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grannyhiker
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grannyhiker
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PostSat Feb 13, 2016 12:27 pm 
I have Kaiser Permanente here in Portland. I worked for them for 10 years and have continued with them since I retired. I've been very satisfied with them for the past 26 years! Our Medicare Advantage is also 5-star and is the highest rated MA program in the Portland metro area. (With Providence only a few points behind us, there's plenty of incentive for KP to stay on top!) Alpine Rose, you have heard incorrectly: Kaiser Permanente is and has always been non-profit. Any earnings are invested in capital expenditures (buildings and equipment); there are no stockholders. Yes, it's gigantic, but in the Northwest (Portland) Region, we never felt that we were being overshadowed by the California bureaucracy. They have centralized some administrative functions, such as Membership Accounting, but there are still local representatives that we can go to if we need assistance. Back in the late 1990s, Group Health planned to merge with the Northwest (Portland) region of Kaiser. After a couple years of chaos, GH backed out at the last minute, making me very happy, since they planned to move my department (Financial Accounting) to Seattle, meaning that almost everyone in Portland left and we were trying to run the department with temps. However, GH and Kaiser have had a reciprocal relationship since then, meaning that I can get care at GH when visiting Seattle and GH members can get care at Kaiser when visiting a Kaiser region. I'm not surprised that the merger is on once again, although the plan this time is for GH to be its own region instead of being merged with Portland. I presume that the Kaiser functions in Vancouver and Longview will stay with Portland rather than transferring to Seattle, but that's just an assumption on my part.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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Brucester
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Brucester
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PostSat Feb 13, 2016 1:49 pm 
Thanks AlpineRose.

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