Gavin Newsom’s deal with Kaiser to add 25% Medicaid patients may be disastrous for ER wait times- Opinion | Lashaun Turner | NewsBreak Original
Inland Empire Kaiser Fontana members already dissatisfied with the service in the ER don’t think the new influx of patients would be a good thing.
KHN reported on the questionable nature to which a recent “sweetheart deal” Gavin Newsom brokered between the state of California and the health care provider Kaiser would affect other Managed Care in the state.
The deal would be to increase Kaiser’s Medicaid enrollment by 25% over the life of the contract.
Governor Newsom campaigned on creating universal healthcare for all low-income individuals in California including non-citizens.
A proposed single-payer system recently failed to pass in the legislature and immediately following this deal was announced with Kaiser.
Admittedly Kaiser is a behemoth in the health care landscape of California. But can it take this increase of patients without it impacting it’s level of service. I don’t think so.
Kaiser Fontana, for instance has a 1.4 rating on Google from many patients who bemoan the current ER wait times and service.
Don’t recommend coming here unless you want to wait a long time and leave feeling like you did not receive quality care. Breana Thomas
Worst Hospital to go to. If you check in here please be aware to wait almost 7–10 hours or more Neisha Adams
My husband went to the ER do to his Gallbladder went in at 5am, 3 hours later got blood work done 6 hours later a nurse came out just to say it’s going to be a 13 hour wait I couldnt belive it I thought it was a joke and they didn’t even give him pain medication because he had to see a Doctor first this hospital is a joke why am I even paying for this and the nurse told us not to record what he was saying.- lupe hernadez
I had an opportunity to speak with staff in the Kaiser Fontana Emergency Department on the evening shift of February 7th, 2022.
I was told it was a typical night in their ER, busy! But what I was stunned to perceive was the lackadaisical attitude towards the flow of patients.
Patient wait times that night were typically long, and as patients suffered their illnesses waiting to be seen for hours — the nurse I spoke to exhibited a lackadaisical attitude towards the flow of patients in in the ER.
Nurse “G” confirmed that the wait times are typically “very long” at this ER. And from public reviews I have seen this is not uncommon in other Kaiser’s around the state.
I spoke to several current Kaiser members who expressed their concerns over the current and future situation of wait times across services including getting appointment with their primary physicians.
The members, already dissatisfied with the services- one stating “I pay $120 every two weeks and then $200 for an ER visit which takes 8–10 hours is ridiculous”.
So how will Kaiser accommodate more? How will this impact patient outcomes in the future? Does Gavin Newsom have a plan that safeguards the people of California?
Or is this just about politics and money? That’s my opinion.
What’s yours? Please leave a comment below.
Originally published at https://original.newsbreak.com.
