Kaiser Permanente: Overview

About Kaiser Permanente

The Kaiser industrial companies of the 1930s and 1940 offered industrial health care programs for construction, shipyard and steel mill workers.These programs were opened to the public for enrollment in July 1945.

It was during the Great Depression that it all began Dr. Sidney Garfield, MD began a 12-bed hospital in the Mojave Desert  called Contractors General Hospital, where he treated sick and injured workers. He had trouble collecting from insurance companies in a timely manner, and some workers had no insurance at all.

To take care of the hospitals financial problems, Harold Hatch, an engineer who became an insurance agent suggested that companies pay Dr. Garfield a fixed amount per day, per covered worker up front. For five cents a day, workers received health coverage, with the option of another five cents a day to take care of non-work related health problems. After thousands of workers joined the prepay health plan, the hospital became a success.

When Henry J. Kaiser set out to build The Grand Coulee Dam, he contacted Dr. Garfield to provide health care to 6,500 workers and their families at the largest construction site in history. Garfield turned the existing hospital into a state-of-the-art treatment facility and brought in other doctors to work in a “prepaid group practice.”

As the U.S entered World War II, about 30,000 workers poured into the Kaiser Shipyards in California, Oregon and Washington to work on Liberty Ships, aircraft carriers and other war related projects. Dr. Garfield, who was scheduled to enter active duty with his U.S. Army Reserve was released by President Roosevelt upon Kaiser’s request. He soon began setting up the comprehensive health care delivery system in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After the war ended the shipyard workforce fell from 90,000 to 13,000. Only 12 of 75 medical group providers remained. On July 21, 1945, the Permanente Health Plan opened to the public to continue the health care delivery set up by Kaiser and Garfield. In 10 years, more than 300,000 people enrolled in Northern California with the support of two unions, the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union and the Retail Clerks Union.

In 1953, the name of the health plan and the hospitals was changed from Permanente to Kaiser Permanente. Even today, there are ties between the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and the Permanente Medical Groups.

Kaiser Permanente Facts & Ratings

Kaiser Permanente Mobile App Rating

The Kaiser Permanente app allows users to find doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies, view claims, and pay your bill. They also offer an app called Humana Pharmacy which helps you to manage your prescriptions.

Kaiser Permanente Enrollment Process

Kaiser Permanente offers plans through the health insurance marketplace. You can begin searching plans here or you can get several free health insurance quotes here.

Each state has their own marketplace. If you’re not sure where to begin, visit https://www.healthcare.gov/. You can also schedule a personal appointment with a local Kaiser Permanente Medicare specialist: 1-866-973-4588.

How to file a claim with Kaiser Permanente

To submit claims for reimbursement, contact member services at 1-888-901-4636. Otherwise, you should be covered except for copay. If you need reimbursement for Medicare Part D prescriptions, you must use the Member reimbursement drug claim form (PDF). For all other prescriptions (non-Medicare and Medicare without Part D) you must use this Prescription claim form (PDF).

Common Questions about Kaiser Permanente

How much is Kaiser Insurance?

In 2018, the average premium for single coverage was $575 per month or $6,896 per year. For a family, the average was $1,635 per month or $19,616 per year.

Kaiser Permanente Contact Info

Methodology

The information listed on this page is from our own in house research. It is accurate as of the article publish date. Visit the carrier website for additional information.

How Does Kaiser Permanente to Other health Insurance Companies?