ComplaintsforKaiser Permanente-Hawaii

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have two medical bills with this healthcare facility from 2022 allegedly. I do not remember being in their emergency room nor did they provide me with proof. They did not have updated insurance or address information from these two visits. Thus they did not bill my insurance and they have been sending bills to the old incorrect address. As a college student I do not have an income above the federal poverty guidelines, so I applied for financial assistance which was denied. They claimed it was due to my income being too high, likely due to my college LOANS being deposited into my bank account and experian thought it was income. I'm unsure if Kaiser is aware loans have to be paid back... Maybe it had something to do with me being an authorized user on a credit card. However I am not claimed as a dependent nor receive monetary support from my parents. Kaiser also sent the information about the denial to the wrong address again. This is all the information I have gathered from the phone call I had with someone in the finance department since I have not actually received anything in the mail where I actually live. One I would like to have proof that it was actually me in their healthcare facility, since hundreds of other college students share the same **** street address I once had. Thousands also live on campus in the same small radius. I genuinely do not remember being there and would not go to a Kaiser hospital as there are 4 closer hospitals located in town. If they actually can prove I was there, then I would like expedited assistance in applying for the financial assistance program via email (mail is slow and I can't spend extra money on stamps) since according to the policy I do qualify. Especially since they have been sending the bills to the wrong address and the bills were getting returned to Kaiser, the timeline to bill insurance has likely passed.

  

  Business response

  01/17/2024

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to *******************.

  

  Business response

  01/17/2024

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to *******************.

  Customer response

  01/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21131819
  
  I am rejecting this response. I have spoke with multiple individuals at Kaiser already and have gotten nowhere. Who is the specific individual that should be reaching out and by what date?
  
  Sincerely
  

  

  Business response

  01/26/2024

  Thank you for your inquiry.  A response to the issues raised by ************ will be provided by the Kaiser Permanente Grievance & ****************** no later than February 11, ****.

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ********** were receiving coverage from KP as of 08/22 arranged through Healthcare.gov for $751.17 a month.In Oct, spouse started new job & were to start getting coverage from KP that way, taken from monthly paycheck. We enrolled for coverage through new job & awaited confirmation re: eligibility start date.During that wait time, I paid $751.17 for the month of Oct. This is prior to receiving any info from KP re: new plan through spouses job. Contacted KP 11/11/22 re: new plan eligibility start date due to not receiving any info thus far from KP, like letter of enrollment or eligibility start date. Was told only then by KP rep that eligibility began 10/1/22. Oct. premium already paid via spouses paycheck. They sent notice on 10/22/22. (Contacted Health.gov immediately 11/11/22 to cancel old coverage). Asked KP rep for $751.17 refund because Oct premium was paid through spouses job already, and expressed disappointment that we weren't notified until the end of the month & both payments had been made, that eligibility started on 10/1/22. Had we been notified in a timely manner, we could have cancelled old plan and not paid $751.17 for coverage we had already paid for. Was informed by KP rep the only way I could get a refund was to contact Health.gov marketplace & have them change cancellation date of old coverage to 10/1/22. Contacted ****************** are unable to change cancellation date due to policy. Requested a 2nd time for refund due to KP not notifying us in timely manner re: eligibility start date, they declined.To recap; New plan eligibility start date 10/1/22. KP claims they sent notice 10/22/22 (22 days after eligibility date). Paid $751.17 for coverage 10/7/22, and again for new plan coverage through spouses paycheck 10/15/22. Never received notice; Called KP 11/11/22 for update. Told then that eligibility started 10/1/22.*attached notice received re: eligibility start date *take note: notice actually sent 11/18/22 (almost 2 mo. later)

  

  Business response

  12/05/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to *******************

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 8/25/2022, I received a bill due 9/20 with a balance owed of $40 for services rendered on 4/15/2022. On 9/11/2022, I went to Kaiser and checked-in on a kiosk. The kiosk asked if I wanted to pay my balance of $40 (there was no specific breakdown of services, only termed "balance"). I paid the $40 balance at that time.On 9/24, I received a bill with a balance of $20 owed for services rendered on 4/15. The bill said information can be found and payment made on "kp.org/paymedicalbills". I went to the website, and found a $0 balance owed. On 11/8, I received a notice threatening collections if I did not pay $20 for an unspecified service within 15 days. The notice was dated 10/25, thus I received the notice on the 14th day. Like the prior bills, the notice also said to seek info and make payment on the website. I went to the website and the balance was again $0, with therefore obviously no option to pay online. On 11/9 (now the 15th day of a 15 day notice I received the day prior), I called the number listed on the notice, and spoke with a total of 6 agents over the course of 2 hours and 22 minutes. Some confirmed a zero balance, some confirmed a $20 balance. One agent informed me that when I paid the $40 on 9/11/2022, instead of that payment, which any reasonable person would think was going toward the $40 balance from 4/15, Kaiser split the payment, without informing me, and applied $20 to 4/15, and applied the other $20 to the 9/11, thus keeping the remaining $20 4/15 balance running, and using the payment instead for the new service. With the conflicting explanations, I requested to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor confirmed the billing practice used by Kaiser (applying payments of balances to the newest charges and allowing the older charges to age, unbeknownst to the consumer), and informed me the 15 days was effective 10/25 regardless of when I was put on notice (11/8), and since there is no option to pay online & mail would be late, I paid

  

  Business response

  12/05/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to ************************.

  Customer response

  12/09/2022

   
  Complaint: 18382549
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have received NO response from the business despite their response to BBB that "Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to" [Complainant].
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

  

  Business response

  12/15/2022

  This matter was addressed pursuant to the letter sent to ************************ dated December 9, 2022.  ************************ is welcome to follow-up with the Kaiser Permanente ***************** Services Department with any further questions about his medical services account.  They can be reached at ************,Monday through Friday 8am 4:30pm

  Customer response

  12/16/2022

   
  Complaint: 18382549
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the business response was to copy and paste my complaint onto their own letterhead and send it back. Nothing else whatsoever. Further, I have followed up to a complaint filed directly with the business, and have received nothing aside from the aforementioned cut and paste of my complaint (which i can only assume is their response to both complaints). I dont need a copy of my own complaint. A copy of my complaint on their letterhead is not a response, it is avoidance with a mail receipt.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

  

  Business response

  01/09/2023

  As stated in the December 15, 2022 response to ************************, he is welcome to follow-up with the Kaiser Permanente ***************** Services Department with any further questions about his medical services account.  They can be reached at ************, Monday through Friday 8am 4:30pm.

  Customer response

  01/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 18382549
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As stated before, i already called countless times and spoke to countless people, each more incompetent than the last. Is the 10th person and next hour going to be any different?
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

  

  Business response

  02/09/2023

  As previously stated multiple times, This matter was addressed pursuant to the letter sent to ************************ dated December 9, 2022.  ************************ is welcome to follow-up with the Kaiser Permanente ***************** Services Department with any further questions about his medical services account.  They can be reached at ************, Monday through Friday 8am 4:30pm.

  Kaiser Permanente now considers this matter closed.

   

  Customer response

  02/09/2023

   
  Complaint: 18382549
  
  I am rejecting this response because: as stated previously multiple times, the "response was nothing more than my complaint, word for word, on their letter head without anything whatsoever to add, AND, as stated previously multiple times, ive already called multiple times, for multiple hours, with nothing more than logging the complaint and ZERO explanation. Cutting and pasting my complaint is obviously not a response, just my complaint on their letterhead. Simply, the business is attempting to avoid the matter under the guise of responding. As is clear in this train of correspondence, absolutely nothing has been said by the business regarding the actual issue. Go ahead. Read. Nothing.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've been having neck and back issues since I injured my back in October of 2021. I first seeked help from Kaiser at the end of December 2021 beginning of January 2022 due to the neck pain disrupting my sleep. To date I've seen no improvement in my neck pain based upon Kaiser treatments. While I was in ***** in July, I had a treatment from a physical therapist outside Kaiser. He did manual manipulation of my neck which greatly decreased my pain and allowed me to sleep through the night. Since coming back to Kaiser in late July, I've been requesting their physical therapists provide manual treatment which they deflected. After two months of me pushing, I was finally told that Kaiser does provide manual manipulation and that I would need to see a physical therapist outside Kaiser. Manual manipulation is a common practice that can be seen mentioned on many physical therapy websites. I've made numerous requests for a referral to be allowed to see a physical therapist outside Kaiser which have all been denied. Even though I've told them repeatedly that my neck pain has been getting worse again causing me to not be able to get a decent nights sleep.The doctor supposedly in charge of my treatment at Kaiser, **************, has not responded to my emails in over 2 weeks even though Kaiser says she will respond in 3 to 4 days. No MRI has been done of my neck and the Kaiser physical therapists keep giving me the same exercises which seem to make my neck pain worse. They then tell me not to do the exercises if they make the pain worse but do not give any other suggestions nor do the doctors. I've been given conflicting information from Kaiser doctors about whether or not I can take Nsaids since I take prednisone twice a week. No one at Kaiser has done a thorough patient exam, if they had they would have noticed my sub scapular muscles were not engaging properly as was discovered by a physical therapist outside of Kaiser.Kaiser seems to have no organized treatment plan.

  

  Business response

  09/23/2022

   Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to *****************************

  Customer response

  09/24/2022

   
  Complaint: 18059074
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have dealt directly with Kaiser Permanent on this issue for over 9 months without getting useful assistance. I am going through the BBB to see if I can get Kaiser to give me a referral to outside physical therapy since their physical therapists do not do manual manipulation and mobilization which I have found helpful for my current neck/back pain. I have been paying out-of-pocket for this treatment and Kaiser is not covering these treatments.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  10/03/2022

  Thank you for your email.  Kaiser Permanente will review the additional issues raised Mr. **************;and will respond directly to him.

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My father has bipolar 1 and is prone to hypermania. He has been depressed so he talked to his psych about meds. My dad's chart is loaded with info regarding what meds work and what don't. The chart also states to contact me, his daughter, regarding any med changes (I have POA). These notes were not read and my dad was placed on an SSRI. By day 2 of the new meds he was hypermanic. I called to chat with his psych but was told he was busy, I called multiple times voicing my concern about dad and was told over and over that the psych didn't have time to talk. I let the ***** know that history will repeat itself, Dad will end ** in jail or the psych unit. Again, the psych was too overloaded with other clients to call me back. I had to reach out to the crisis line of hawaii to finally be heard. The police came to our home and told Dad if he didn't voluntarily go to the hospital with EMS that they would be escorting him. I finally got a call back from his psych AFTER he was hospitalized. Your behavioral health department is so completely clogged up with so many patients and so few providers that I had to call the crisis line for any help. The past year dad hasn't been able to schedule twice monthly appointments, if he's lucky he gets 15 minutes with the psych over the phone once a month but usually it's a 2 month wait. I'm in shock at how awful the ***** has become over the past year. I'm dad's caregiver and I feel utterly let down.

  

  Business response

  09/15/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to **************.

  Customer response

  09/15/2022

   
  Complaint: 18014252
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I am filing this complaint as a representative of my father, there is no reason to not respond directly to me. Also, you got his name wrong. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

  

  Business response

  10/08/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to **************, or his authorized representative.

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Aloha,My name is Dr. ********* Love. I am writing on behalf of me and my husband ****** Love. I had Kaiser through my husbands job and UHA through mine. I was told from the receptionist at Kaiser that UHA will pick up my $5 ** pays if I give her the card. Easy enough, gave the nice receptionist my UHA card. Come to find out that was literally the biggest mistake ever. Between my husband and I we have now spent over 40 hours trying to resolve a simple medical ****. We have filed multiple grievances and have yet to have resolution to this simple problem starting in December 2021. Grievances were filed April 5 2022, April 10 2022, April 16,2022, April 19 2022, May 9 2022, August 8 2022 and we have yet to receive resolution or any **mmunication from the department. We have been bounced between financial services, member services, insurance billing and the grievance department. It has been 8 months of trying to resolve a simple medical ****. Now I receive notice that my **** is going to **llections. We were always advised to not pay the **** until it gets straighten out . I recently received a statement saying I owe $30 by 8/8 or it will go to **llections. I log onto Kaiser today, 8/8 and it says in both mine and my husbands ac**unt we owe $0 trying to figure it out we call billing and they say we owe $1,067. What do I owe? $0 like my online portal states? $30 like the **** says? Or $1,067 that the lady on the phone states? Part of me wants to simply pay the **** and be done with it, but there is part of me that says you had two insurances, why should you pay $1,000 for routine services because the billing department is inept? I went to Kaiser with Kaiser insurance, usually have a $5-10 ** pay. Now I have a medial **** of over $1,000 because I have two insurances that cant **mmunicate? I have called Kaiser and UHA

  

  Business response

  08/20/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to Ms. *****

  Customer response

  08/22/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, Kasier has not reached out to me yet. I have spent hours calling the insurance department, grievance department etc and no response. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Charlotte Love

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Kaiser Permanente has the insurance information of my two providers. They submitted two small value claims, but personally billed me for claims costing over ten thousand dollars. Those claims were not even submitted to my insurance company.I was advised by my doctor that it is because Kaiser can charge me more than my insurance company will pay them. Despite contacting every Kaiser email I could find online, none will forward me to the claims or finance department. I was told 10 times that the only way they can be contacted by phone, despite the fact that I repeatedly said I do not have a phone.I am unemployed, basically homeless, and have no way to pay the ****. However, I do have insurance. I have Mass Health and *****. Kaiser submitted two small dollar claims to *****, one of which was denied by ***** because they said it was double billing (but also said I was not responsible for paying Kaiser, since they already paid for the same procedure once). I can't contact Kaiser.They only submitted the small amount claims to my insurance and sent bills to my mother's address for thousands of dollars without even trying to submit to my insurance companies. My insurance company has refused their claims on the grounds of them billing multiple times for procedures already paid for. Kaiser said I'm responsible for the bills that cost multiple thousands of dollars because they don't contract with my insurance company. Yet, they did not even bother to submit the large claims. They did submit ones totaling ***** each, so they do contract.

  

  Business response

  07/26/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to ********************.

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Got ****** by **** and insurance.I was told if I pay $240 I would get a years membership.In actuality I only used it two months. My employer laid me off, I was left w no health insurance and they automatically cancelled my membership.So what was a $20/month proposal and agreement quickly turned into $120/month

  

  Business response

  07/19/2022

  Thank you for your inquiry.  Kaiser Permanente will review the issues raised and respond directly to ************.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩