WATSONVILLE — Medicare recipients hoping to see a doctor at Kaiser Permanente will have to continue waiting.
When it opened three offices throughout Santa Cruz County in 2017, Kaiser Permanente had planned to offer Medicare in 2018. But that plan is on hold as Kaiser works to “obtain regulatory approval,” said Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente San Jose and Santa Cruz County.
“Kaiser Permanente is strongly committed to the Medicare program and intends to offer coverage in Santa Cruz County in the future,” Chavez said in a statement. “We expect to be able to share more information later this year.”
According to the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, about 30,000 Santa Cruz County residents are enrolled in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 or older or those with certain disabilities.
Watsonville resident Bill Neighbors said he recently went to Kaiser’s office in the Crossroads Shopping Center, but was told they did not accept Medicare.
“Especially in Watsonville, to not take Medicare, it’s a shame,” he said. “If they want to be in our town, they need to take care of our residents. We are short of doctors.”
Mayor Lowell Hurst said he asked Kaiser if they planned to offer Medicare when they first came to Watsonville.
“At the time they told me that they too were thinking about that, as they had studied the local demographics extensively,” he said.
Hurst questioned if Santa Cruz County’s low Medicare reimbursement rate could be a “problematic issue.” According to the Dartmouth Atlas Project, the county’s reimbursement rate, which is the average amount hospitals and physicians receive in return for serving Medicare beneficiaries, is $7,382, about $2,500 less than the national average.
“I do hope they will help meet the needs of seniors as it is an increasing hardship for many to leave town to see a doctor,” he said.
