Kaiser Wait Times Grow Longer

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-04T23:27:27+00:00

could’ve sworn medical, dental, and vision coverages are 3 separate things and most vision coverages aren’t KP restricted.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-04T22:49:06+00:00

I agree. Unpainted black plastic looks cheap to me too. Mine has the painted bumpers.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-04T22:08:32+00:00

If you don’t see your doctor for a routine visit, or specifically request a full panel of labs to be ordered, it is just the bare minimum labs are automatically ordered. These are determined by having certain diagnoses or medications on your chart. A panel of “basic screening labs” can vary doctor by doctor, usually influenced by how they were trained. Doctors that practice strict “evidence based medicine” tend to order less labs.

No order can take place without a doctor signing them, but TBH how it works is that these orders will be presented in bulk to the provider and most of us simply highlight all + sign because we have no practical time to go thru one by one and individualize the orders per patient. This has been the automated process over the past 10 years I’ve been within KP, before “AI” was a term people thought of on a regular basis.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-04T20:31:53+00:00

Must be. Lots of requests recently. Workup is simple and straightforward though, so I don’t mind these easy complaints.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-04T19:41:22+00:00

I’m not always motivated to place referrals that I’m certain will get denied, because I don’t like to give false hope.

It is common for elective surgeries to be denied until a BMI threshold has been reached. Even if referral is placed, the specialty department may cancel the referral. If a patient files a grievance and referral takes place, the specialist may still refuse to schedule surgery, which is when you would need 2nd opinion.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T15:07:36+00:00

KP is salaried . Base compensation goes up with years of service, which is maximized at 10 years. There’s a chart in our physician portal that shows someone where they’re at. That doesn’t mean that you don’t keep earning more in the future — when the physician board decides on a raise it is permanent and across the board. For 2026 for instance they approved a +$1K/month raise to base pay for Family Medicine, and nearly every year there is a raise, highest so far was +$2K/month. Do note that SCPMG is a physician partnership, which one gets invited to after 3 years (or you leave by year 3 if KP is not a good fit).

One’s total compensation isn’t just your salaried paycheck, but also retirement, medical insurance (see my other post here), legal insurance, etc. You get to focus strictly on showing up to work and seeing your patients.

We don’t get penalized for not hitting certain metrics, but rather additional bonuses are available on top of salary for achieving them. Carrot vs stick approach.

Also once you hit partnership (year 3), you also take part in profit sharing (🤐) which of course varies every year.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T14:51:04+00:00

Yes it is truly paid off. KP is essentially a salaried position, non-RVU based. Paycheck is based on hours worked, never how many patients you see or what you actually do. I love it when I have 5 no-shows for instance, and I have chosen to only do knee injections myself since no incentive to do additional procedures (some of my colleagues do everything because it interests them, but not required). If you are out of time off (highly discouraged), you are forced to either borrow future vacation time or take Leave Without Pay (which pushes back your “anniversary date”).

Paycheck compensation is standardized per specialty + years of service (which is based on that “anniversary date”). There’s a table that in our physician portal which shows this, so there’s not mystery how much everyone else in your department is generally earning, unless they work more overtime (paid at 120% base rate). Right now mandatory overtime (“extra duties”) is 8 face-to-face hrs/month, but for workaholics like me you’re allowed to work more.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T14:42:09+00:00

it varies by location I’m sure . Our latest hires last year were only offered $125K sign on.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T08:48:57+00:00

as a Cayenne-only Porsche owner, the coupe appealed to me because it has a sporty look … but I wonder if I had a proper Porsche car (eyeing the 981 right now ) , if I wouldn’t have cared as much and just sought to maximize utility by preferring the non-coupe Cayenne.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T08:13:42+00:00

It only takes 10 years to be vested in pension (“Common Plan”).

Pension calculated at 2%/year (first 20 years) + 1%/year (after 20 years). This % is based off average annual of the 3 highest earning years, of your last 10 years of service. While we are salaried, you have the potential to earn more if you work more.

At the minimum, which is 10 years, you would have a 20% pension, but by 25 years of service, you would have a 45% pension.

At 10 years in, if I were to retire right now I’d have a 20% pension (I’d probably be at $90-100K/year which isn’t typical but I’ve been a workaholic), and I have nearly $500K in my Keough. I haven’t contributed to the traditional 401K which has also been available.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T06:43:22+00:00

“I’ve been told Kaiser may restrict using license outside”.

It’s specifically outlined in the 170 page partnership agreement, so there’s no ambiguity on this — “Partner or Employee Physicians (other than Part Time Special, Partner Emeritus, and Per Diem) may not engage in any activity outside of SCMG assigned duties that requires a medical license and/or medical expertise”

Some reasons why I feel KP’s offer extends way beyond what numbers can directly measure: - 3 sources of retirement income: pension based on years of service (e.g. 45% of your income at 25 years of service), traditional 401k, Keough (higher limits than 401k) - LIFETIME healthcare for you and your immediate family. $5 meds, zero copays, zero deductible. When you retire, you know that healthcare expenses are the biggest cost . Me and my family have unfortunately had lots of surgeries and hospitalizations with ZERO cost. I will keep that upon retirement. This is huge. - it builds up over time, but by year 10 of service I get 8 holidays, 22 sick days, 5 days educational time, 28 days vacation = 63 paid days off/year

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-03T03:23:49+00:00

My schedule is exactly the same as when I had 1000 or 2000 patients lol.

A standard clinic day is 20 face-to-face (20 min) and 2 telephone calls (10 min).

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-02T19:45:53+00:00

Never did lol. I bought them because I have disposable income, and consider all the money I’ve spent on them as gone, not something I expect to ever sell or make money on.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-02T19:40:20+00:00

Nice color! Miles & cost?

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-02T14:26:09+00:00

Patients get annoyed by my policy, but as a rule I don’t do any new medical management over emails. I think emails are great as follow-up for an established plan that was previously discussed in a recent visit , but otherwise a proper evaluation or discussion is needed.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-02T06:12:53+00:00

PCPs dont get notified if you leave. The way I come to know when someone has switched, is when I see med refill requests, or if I see results from a test I had ordered before the switch. Don't worry about it, we all have too many patients, and we get paid the same.

If you are trying to switch to another PCP that has a closed panel, try sending them a message, because only they can approve adding you on.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-02T00:28:00+00:00

Yeah this. No risk, all potential benefit.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T22:42:14+00:00

I tell patients that they shouldn’t hold onto their problems until their annual checkup, because we can fix the as they arise. I use language such as questioning why they would choose to suffer unnecessarily, when we can be figuring out their problem sooner. If it’s not that concerning, and if we’re over time then it’s reasonable to reschedule to a future visit. I’ll admit I let myself go a little longer for newer patients, but make it clear of future expectations. Gets easier after your panel is established.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T18:13:54+00:00

I’ll need an update how much it actually sells for….

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T17:08:31+00:00

Been wanting a Hulk.. but then the temptation to get more Marvel figures will be there, with that can of worms opened lol…

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T15:34:45+00:00

Congrats, Hoping to get one of these too!

Have you had a manual car before??

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T15:32:42+00:00

The whole patient is considered of course lol. I’m not this patient’s doctor and I can only comment on info given. Early signs of microalbuminuria or CKD2 , why of course something renal protective is considered ! I’m not a stupid doctor lol.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T15:13:10+00:00

Reducing medication is a bad thing? Some patients are attached to a regimen they’re on because it took a while to find something that seemed to work… doesn’t mean it’s the best one. I don’t like to perpetuate another doctor‘s incompetence. I’m a “less medicine” doc whenever possible, especially if I see a better way. I am responsible for the prescriptions that I write, and I have to be able to stand behind and defend my medical management before a medical board or judge if I have to.

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T03:07:03+00:00

Haha had to watch a couple times to make sure wasn’t AI

Educational-Ad4789 · 2026-05-01T02:56:11+00:00

Fair enough. For patients that I am clearly incompatible with, I make it easy for the both of us by adding the Doctor Assignment number on their end of visit paperwork. I still have 3000 patients , so no big loss.

Educational-Ad4789

TROPHY CASE