Kaiser Permanente health insurance
The most recommended of 3 health insurances
People recommend Kaiser Permanente for its integrated insurer-hospital model, standardized protocols and strong quality metrics. The most common caveat is weak preventive care and slow, uneven service.
People recommend Kaiser Permanente for its integrated insurer-hospital model, standardized protocols and strong quality metrics. The most common caveat is weak preventive care and slow, uneven service.
37 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 20
- approval share
- 46%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Standardized protocols with strong quality metrics
“Their secret sauce is their ability to standardize protocols throughout their entire organization.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Kaiser nurses say AI, workplace surveillance are making their jobs, care worse” “Their quality metrics have increased steadily over the last 10 years”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Kaiser nurses say AI, workplace surveillance are making their jobs, care worse” “their protocols are top notch as reflected by their quality metrics”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Kaiser nurses say AI, workplace surveillance are making their jobs, care worse” - Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Kaiser nurses say AI, workplace surveillance are making their jobs, care worse”
Cheaper than many alternatives
“It's cheaper than the absolute cheapest scam insurances and will get you a decent level of care.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance"” “Choose Kaiser if your only other option is a cheap scan”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance"” Good care and doctors
“Kaiser is by far my best experience with healthcare in the US”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “US federal budget deficit jumps 12% in one year to nearly $2 Trillion” “Kaiser (Nor Cal), has been amazing. I highly recommend them.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance"” “You actually get great level of care”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance"” - Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance"”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weak preventive care for many patients
“HMOs (Kaiser specifically) will generally not provide any sort of preventative care in this area unless your numbers are very high”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Ticker: Don't die of heart disease” “he and his department did everything they could to discourage me from following up with a colonoscopy”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Medicare Will Pay $50k for Your Heart Attack. It Should Pay $100 to Prevent It” Scheduling and surgery delays
“their scheduling system was dysfunctional — they were the better of the options my employer offered”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams dies at 68 after prostate cancer battle” “You should see how long their surgery departments are backed up!”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1T and 114,000 Lives a Year, Yale Study”
Other health insurances people recommend
The two most recommended other health insurances, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Permanente health insuranceThis page | 17 | 20 | 46% | 8 | — | — |
| Medicare | 13 | 1 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| UnitedHealthcare health insurance | 5 | 23 | 18% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Kaiser has some very opinionated beliefs that their medical leadership pushes.”
“he and his department did everything they could to discourage me from following up with a colonoscopy”
“Kaiser is by far my best experience with healthcare in the US”
“Kaiser sucks unless you're healthy.”
“health system like Kaiser Permanente compare more favorably to national healthcare systems than you might think”
“This is not my family's experience on distinctly not-concierge-medicine Kaiser Permanente in the Bay Area.”
“KP has never really cracked the nut of appropriate mental health care.”
“Kaiser patient I personally had multiple specialists quit Kaiser to work elsewhere”
“giving no way to opt out of it”
“You should see how long their surgery departments are backed up!”
“Kaiser who has actively been punished by the US Department of Labor”
“Yes, Kaiser is a great model.”
“Their quality metrics have increased steadily over the last 10 years”
“their protocols are top notch as reflected by their quality metrics”
“recently their webpage asked nicely if I would sign a HIPAA waiver to share my data with third parties for marketing purposes”
“Although Kaiser tends to repel such patients (they'll happy say "No" and tell you to find some other provider).”
“they have a fair share of controversies, including major fines due to poor COVID protocol adherence”
“it's not fine when it comes to intensive care”
“their care has deteriorated significantly since then”
“They're specifically known for having really good outcomes.”
“Their secret sauce is their ability to standardize protocols throughout their entire organization.”
“the current Kaiser dreck I and employer pay significant sums for”
“you could have excellent coverage from Kaiser”
“But not at Kaiser. $17k later…”
“after the mixed experience I had with Kaiser”
“sending Kaiser emails was broken”
“Kaiser / the Blues have their issues (mostly inefficiency)”
“switch to Kaiser HMO next open enrollment, you will not regret it”
“Kaiser Permanente solved all of my problems with healthcare.”
“their scheduling system was dysfunctional — they were the better of the options my employer offered”
“the problems with Kaiser healthcare”
“Choose Kaiser if your only other option is a cheap scan”
“they are not a scam by any measure”
“And because the same company owns the insurance provider and hospitals, they're incentivized to keep overall costs down.”
“Doctors and care has been amazing.”
“A friend had his life wrecked by Kaiser, and none of the attorneys he consulted wanted to touch the case”
“You actually get great level of care”
“Kaiser (Nor Cal), has been amazing. I highly recommend them.”
“It's cheaper than the absolute cheapest scam insurances and will get you a decent level of care.”
“HMOs (Kaiser specifically) will generally not provide any sort of preventative care in this area unless your numbers are very high”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.