Thursday, October 24, 2013

Whoa! Kaiser Dumps The Five Most Important Hospitals In Fairfax County, Virginia

From Inova, which provides the majority of medical care here in Northern Virginia:
A note to our patients about Kaiser Permanente

As of October 1, 2013, Inova facilities and physicians do not have contracts with Kaiser Permanente to provide in-network services. That means that Kaiser members, including health insurance exchange plan members, will no longer be allowed non-emergency access to Inova facilities, physicians, or outpatient services. The only exceptions to this fact are: Kaiser members who require emergency care; any Kaiser member who is part of our lung transplant program; and any Kaiser member who was receiving inpatient care or recurring outpatient care at an Inova location before October 1, 2013.

With our five hospitals and 140 additional locations in northern Virginia, including urgent and emergency care centers, physician offices and physical therapy centers, Inova offers convenient access and choice to the communities we serve.

If you would like to rely on Inova for your health and medical needs and are able, please consider choosing a health plan that gives you access to Inova. We participate with many of the leading commercial insurance plans.

If you have any questions, please contact your benefits administrator, Kaiser member services, or your physician.
More details about the Inova system HERE.

 Fairfax Hospital is part of the Inova system:
Inova Fairfax Hospital is the largest hospital in Northern Virginia and the flagship hospital of Inova Health System. Located in Fairfax County, Virginia, Inova Fairfax Hospital is one of the largest employers in the County.  The hospital campus includes the only heart institute in the region, the 156-bed Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, as well as the Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. Northern Virginia’s only Children’s Hospital – largest Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit in the region, dedicated Pediatric intensive care, oncology unit, adolescent unit, cardiac surgery and pediatric surgery center.
The above change in accessing Inova will affect Fairfax County employees and retirees as well as innumerable others.

4 comments:

Always On Watch said...

BTW, typically Kaiser offers the lowest premium of all the insurance companies in this region.

Epaminondas said...

This is the most FUCKED UP, ill considered, unplanned, goop melange of some moron's ideological idea of applied, egalitarian, social justice, all have equal medical care IMAGINABLE. The only way it could be worse is if people start dropping dead because too many doctors leave to become investment bankers, or live in a nation/island where they will fly rich people for concierge medical care.

Think of other huge programs.
TVA.
Manhattan Project.
Apollo.

This is a really really BAD JOKE.

Anonymous said...

We were informed this week that yet another physician is 'retiring', well ahead of plan. After a surgical procedure, this doc stated he could no longer abide by the insurance matrix thrust upon a 2 man practice he started 20 plus years ago, only to merge multiple times with expanding conglomerates to keep up with the incumberances of insurers and law makers.
The practice of medicine is suffering from an illness inflicted by bean counters and profiteers.

Ciccio said...

What most Amricans seem to forget when they deride the Canadian health care system is that this is basically bare bones. Most companies offer additional insurance. It does not cover glasses, dental, drugs- unless catastrophic. Physiotherapy, chiropractor and all that sort of thing as strictly no no. The government has also strictly regulated to cost of drugs from manufacturer to pharmacy, as a result they are some 40% of US prices. All the world's major drug companies are in Canada, none have gone bust, none have stopped selling. I have lived here for 35 years, had a few heart attacks and a stroke and can't complain.