Goodbye
Kaiser

June 19, 2019 -- Yesterday I had my final appointment in the Kaiser HMO medical system. It was not serving my needs and, I argue, does not serve the needs of many of its members. In our too-brief-as-always meeting, my smart-but-doctrinaire MD Saruchi Tandon acknowledged that Kaiser is "conservative and evidence-based." She was half right. Kaiser is indeed conservative, in the sense that the status quo is maintained, whether or not it means good care.

Medical decisions at Kaiser are decidedly not evidence-based. Rather, they are made by habit and tradition. For example, much could be done for sufferers of chronic conditions -- notably hypertension and diabetes -- but Kaiser persists in simply doling out pills (just like the rest of mainstream American healthcare) rather than curing. The evidence -- if only they would look at it -- shows that cures are often possible.

I am living proof. Until a month ago, I had a diagnosis of prediabetes. My fasting blood glucose was measured at 107 mg/dL, exceeding the guideline of 99. A medically-supervised fast and lifestyle change to a plant-based diet have brought my blood glucose back down to a healthy level. (Today it is 84 mg/dL.) However, in my decades at Kaiser, I have never heard the words "plant-based" nor "fasting". Had I not taken matters into my own hands, Kaiser would have permitted my pre-diabetes to worsen to the point of no longer being "pre-" and thus requiring a lifetime of Metformin and insulin and the ugly sequelae of that awful disease.

Did Dr. Tandon ask me how I achieved my remarkable outcome? Nope. Not interested. In our meeting, I attempted to describe it. She changed the subject.

Another example, equally anecdotal but equally relevant to my life, is my girlfriend, also a longtime Kaiser member. She has suffered from hypertension for much of her adult life. Kaiser gives her a handful of pills to take daily -- ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, diuretics. Kaiser was guaranteeing that she would remain hypertensive for life. They don't cure, they "manage".

Unbidden by Kaiser, she, too, has converted to a plant-based diet. We are seeing her blood pressure numbers drop and she is weaning herself off those pills. Like me, she has never heard anyone at Kaiser utter the words "plant-based".

So I've decided -- after decades of Kaiser membership -- to ditch 'em. My girlfriend still drinks the Kool-Aid and is not yet ready to jump ship but soon she will see how much better medical care can be. I am switching to One Medical where health care providers are not limited to ten minutes, are not bound by tradition and habit, and health care is not delivered by an assembly line.

Goodbye Kaiser! Hello health!

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