Thanks. Reading these experiences have convinced us to buy her a Blue Shield PPO plan, even tho it’s more expensive than Kaiser. We are with Sharp and only regret there is no Sharp for our daughter in the Bay Area. Three times in the last year (twice for me, once for our daughter) our Sharp primary care physician has ordered us to get blood work to see how new meds are affecting us. We tend to procrastinate on stuff like that, and the doctor would have her nurse hound us by phone to get it done. This resulted in an odd combination of emotions in me: I was both infuriated and impressed.
We were not with Kaiser very long. I do remember, however, having to work the system to get an immediate (same day) appointment, such as exagerating symptoms. At Sharp, you simply say, “I need to see someone today” and they will accommodate you, even if it’s with a physician’s assistant, which is fine by me.