My older Sister, a richly pensioned retired public school 2nd grade teacher.
(She lost $10k s by believing "insurance sharks" of hi commish=low quality 403b products vs low commish=high quality 403b products.)
It was the adults that were so Hard, a Principal who ordered her to be a Mover every year and move Everything, all the school district PROPERTY teaching material from one class room to another for no good reason, just power-tripping college educated women to really break their backs in spite of the weak Teachers Union(Do teachers in CA. start salaries at over $40k, for a charter bus driver with no college? No. Does the Teachers Union make these Principals hire Movers instead of abusing skilled professional valuable public school teachers? No.
Does the Teachers Union teach teachers how to read their huge 403b pension pre-tax savings Quarterly Statement, so at the very least they know a (-) is Not a "credit" but a mutual fund LOSING principle investment and dividends !? No. Does the Teachers Union protect teachers from being ordered by Principals and Deans to help Administer by being put, against their will, on various School Committees, that are Not teachers primary job? No.)
The kids were easy and fun in very poor Huntington Park, mostly Mex kids constantly leaving an ok school to live on the South side of the border and working on the North side of the border, totally disrespecting that it was and is the USA's National border. Political cheap labor pool.
She had a quality medical plan like Pacific Care or better when we were both working in the 1980s; But now she's retired and retired teachers are like retired soldiers, veterans that don't deserve much.
So she bought Kaiser, knowing it wasn't as good as what she had when she was WORKING, making over $80k after over 30yrs with Terrible LAUSD adults and pre-tax 403b teacher saving $12k plus every year, thus making IRAs and 401k look like something for foolish teenagers, not serious saving adults.
As a school bus driver, UPS before-computers driver, Frisco beer truck-loved driver, limo and or charter bus,tourist season driver, all my benefits have been taken away by super greedy bosses, even Kaiser medical insurance.
So my boss paid very high monthly Kaiser premiums and I too co-paid Kaiser high monthly premiums. Now I just have the shameful, intern testing ground zero of the V.A., from being drafted in college by Nixon for foolish Vietnam wasting war.
Older Sister got Shingles first.
No amount of money, salary or savings is going to make Shingles less painful or go away.
Other than injecting heroin.(joke)
Yes, it is that painful.
Her Kaiser doc did Not give her the usual reliable vaccine.
So she was paying Kaiser huge Individual premiums, And suffering a very easy to prevent disease !!
My Kaiser doc also didn't care that I had kid's chicken pox and was over 50 and had not been vaccinated against Smallpox.
So I called asap and asked, "Can I buy a Shingles vaccine shot?" Sure, come on over.
And that is why I say Kaiser is piss poor medical/health insurance, and Very Expensive.
