Re: AKICIF: Kaiser vs. Blue Cross?

In article <fplfbk$l0k$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Paul
Ciszek) writes:

>I have to choose between Kaiser HMO, Blue Cross-Blue ****eld PPO,
>and Blue Cross-Blue ****eld "Buy-Up" PPO.  Any recommendations?
>I have type 2 diabetes, so whichever plan I choose it will be
>presumably costing them money.


I don't think I remember what state you're in.  In California, my
experience
was that the quality of care varied greatly from Kaiser facility to Kaiser
facility.  (Eg, my mother couldn't get her MS diagnosed for six years in
Los
Angeles, but they spotted it right away when she had a flareup while in
San
Diego.)

I found the all-but-drugs-included benefit of Kaiser HMO pretty
attractive, 
and I had a doc I really liked for a while, but he got a fellow****p and
went
away and I never found another there - finally switched insurers.

Organizationally, I believe Kaiser has a pretty good record on preventive
care,
promoting healthy lifestyles, etc.

Whenever I looked at the PPO options offered by my employers, they seemed
really unattractive.  So my inclination with those choices would be to try
to
get an impression of your local Kaiser facilities - google around, maybe
somebody's ranting about them - and if they seem adequate, go with that.

-- Alan