Kaiser Permanente nurses strike

Some people knock Kaiser, myself I have had Kaiser for the last 30 years, I became sick with a disabling problem 10 years ago and Kaiser had no problem with the $80,000 bill the first month and all the bills since, they have taken great care of me and my family everytime we need them.

Simple, if they do not like where they are working they can go and find a job somewhere else. Since they do have a job and at Kaiser these nurses are setting doing nothing most of the time I would say they got a better deal than an unemployment or welfare check.

Oh, yeah, sittingatwork, I believe you that it is true, but a Surgical Oncologist that performed a mastectomy for that amount did it out of kindness. Sounds to me like he is s good guy, and I do believe you Kaiser pays less than any other HMO or hospital.

It takes less education to become a PA than it does to be an RN. Then a PA can write prescriptions for any schedule III drug, and can even write schedule II drugs (morphine, OxyContin, the hard stuff) if the supervising MD or DO signs off on it. A full load student can get a PA diploma in two years, then of course must pass State boards, an full load of THREE years to be an RN, and they are not allowed to diagnose, at least legally, but sometimes they are better diagnosticians than some MD's. I don't get it. What I posted is not opinion, I researched thoroughly so I would have my facts straight. In Tehachapi there is a clinic which will remain unnamed staffed by PA's and Certified Nurse Practitioners (I don't know the difference, did not research that) but is "supervised" by an MD which is present at the clinic 4 hours a month. No. it's not the clinic owned and operated by the Tehachapi hospital. That's a good clinic) but the main doctor there died last year and seems they had a difficult time replacing him. The PA's and NP-C did a good job filling in.

This is a true story, An HMO (not Kaiser)paid a Surgical Oncologist about 350 u.s. dollars for a mastectomy. This is the reason I dislike HMOs, Most Physicians (recent graduates) wish they would have gone to PA (physicians assistant) school vs Medical school. This is what is happening in medicine. again I say Kaiser does not pay this much for RNs guaranteed !!

All due respect my friend a RN earned $133k in 2011. Not Kaiser.

I guarantee Kaiser nurses make nowhere close to 150,000 per year and part of the problem with the high costs of hospital stays are the costs of the equipment, pharmaceuticals, malpractice insurance,building costs, etc. etc. I can also guarantee that Kaiser is not paying these costs to the Hospitals or Physicians that serve them. More often then not, their negotiated contracts pay almost pennies on the dollar. I recently attended a physicians conference and listened to story after story of HMOs paying little to nothing for services provided during hospitalization. The physician treats the patient and then submits a bill which is viewed by a person who knows only billing codes only and nothing about medicine. That person is the one that decides what should get paid to the physician, and these folks work for (Kaiser) which means they always have to err on the side of profit for the Company. Doctors these days have to attend conferences to learn how to maximize reimbursements and basically play the HMO game. This takes Doctors away from treating patients, we all deserve better!

I have a real problem with everybody putting Kaiser down. My husband and I have had Kaiser for over 12 years and have never had a problem with health care that we couldn't resolve by discussing it with someone at Kaiser. The network of doctors is so large, there is no reason to stay with a doctor you don't like or feel is incompetent. After all, incompetent doctors are everywhere, just like incompetent teachers and imcompetent bus drivers. A patient needs to take an active part in his or her health care. As far as the strike, I don't know what the nurses there get paid, but the ones I have met earn every penny. I disagree with unions as they are in this day an age, but one day isn't going to make much difference as far as patient care. And Kaiser, by the way, sent a message to their members letting us know about the upcoming strike and reassuring us they would be putting patient care first. Handled pretty well, I think, under the circumstances.

After a bit of thought, maybe I came down a bit harsh, that was my knee-jerk reaction of which I usually try to avoid. An RN, LVN, does have a tremendous amount of responsibility and education. Hospitals could not even begin to function without them. Even doctors will agree with that. I have been treated with compassion and respect by them (mostly). But I do find it extremely irritating when their English is so poor. The Filipinos come to the US the legal way, as opposed to some other nationalities for a better life, nothing wrong with that. But I still say a strike is uncalled for. I am retired now, but I have an education too, worked a skilled job that provided for my family decently with no union.

You have GOT to be kidding me. Nurses, RN's make upwards of $50 an hour, and normally work 12 hour shifts, putting in 4 hrs a day at $75/hour. They work 4 days a week and knock down $150k a year. LVN: almost, but not quite the same. LVN's, if you can find one in Bakersfield that can speak English, make $30 and up. Healthcare benefits? Best money can buy, except Kaiser nurses are probably stuck with Kaiser services. There I sympathize with them. retirement? SAVE some of that instead of driving a Mercedes. Union labor, ESPECIALLY in the medical field is why a hospital stay is $3k a night plus drugs plus doctor fees (separate) plus this and that. This translates in to outrageous premiums for you and me to buy decent health insurance. I grant you to become an RN is hard work, a tremendous amount of education, difficult Stare boards to pass, but that does not entitle you to be greedy. When is enough enough? And the worst thing is something I mentioned: at San Joaquin the Filipino's have the jobs, and I can not understand a word they say. "OH, you we need to IV in poot. Make a vist and I see I if can gut nettle cadader" Yeah, that's right I am MOCKING YOU..deal with it.