Here’s What to Do If You’re a Kaiser Permanente Patient

The country’s largest nonprofit health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, has 75,000 employees on strike across several states — but how will it affect the 13 million people with Kaiser health plans?

Workers are striking for three days, starting October 4 at 6 a.m. and ending Oct 7 at 6 a.m. in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia and Washington D.C., although Kaiser provides health care in eight states. Workers in Georgia, Hawaii and Maryland are not striking, according to the union.

Doctors and nurses are not involved in the strike, but hundreds of support staff including technicians, pharmacists and pharmacy workers, housekeepers, respiratory therapists and home health aides walked out today to demand better pay, working conditions and training.

So what can you expect if you’ve got Kaiser health care, or have planned to see a doctor over the next several days? Here’s what Kaiser has said so far.  

Kaiser hospitals and emergency services remain open

Kaiser said its hospitals and emergency rooms remain open, but that some appointments may need to be rescheduled and they will reach out to individual patients if necessary. However, the call center employees are on strike, so it's unclear who will be reaching out to patients.

Kaiser recommends rescheduling an appointment online when possible.

In a letter posted on Wednesday, Kaiser said it was “disappointed” in the unions and that facilities “will be staffed by our physicians, trained and experienced managers and staff, and in some cases, we will augment with licensed and qualified contract staff. If you think you are having a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.”

Some clinics and pharmacies are closed

Kaiser recommends checking local facility pages for updates. Closures are listed on their website, but not all in the same section. Navigate to your local area and check for alerts.

For example, in Deer Valley California, the outpatient pharmacy, vaccination clinic and radiology services are all closed.

In Colorado, Spring Creek Medical Offices are closed. In Southern California, many laboratories are closed.

Washington clinics and pharmacies remain open.

The Messenger has reached out to Kaiser Permanente for additional comment on patient services. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.