Kaiser Permanente of Georgia recently opened its newest medical office in the region, located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. These medical offices opened for business the week of June 1, 2010 and began seeing patients. The Kaiser Permanente Lawrenceville location is at 455 Philip Blvd. in Building 100. A recent press release put out by Kaiser Permanente Georgia states, “The Lawrenceville location brings to 20 the number of Kaiser Permanente medical facilities in the organization’s 28-county service area, with plans to add as many as six more by the end of 2010. Kaiser Permanente owns or leases more than one million square feet of building space in metro Atlanta.”

This new medical office has become Kaiser Permanente’s third location in Gwinnett. This facility is KPGA Region’s third new medical center to open its doors in the last six months. The other new facilities include the East Cobb and Downtown Decatur medical centers. The Lawrenceville Medical Office has more than 5,700 square feet and includes laboratory, basic radiology, pharmacy and examination rooms. 10-15 health care professionals from the Southeast Permanente Medical Group will be employed at this facility. Their focus will be on pediatrics and internal medicine. In early June, the Kaiser Lawrenceville facility will have its official ribbon cutting ceremony. Kaiser Georgia invested just short of $2 million to open the new Lawrenceville Medical Center.

Posted: June 3rd, 2010 under Georgia.
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Kaiser Permanente Georgia Individual Department and Kaiser Permanente Colorado Individual Department allows applicants to have the option of doing a pre-screen before they actually submit an application. This allows them the convenience of finding out if it’s worth filling out an entire application. In some cases, the pre-existing health condition would be cause for an automatic denial. By doing a pre-screen this individual can find out before filling out the application so as not to waste time filling out a long application when the ultimate result will be a denial of health insurance coverage.

If an applicant has a pre-existing they would like to be pre-screened for, they may send an email or handwritten notice with the following information:

1. Applicants name
2. Condition
3. Date of diagnoses
4. List of prescriptions including dosage and frequency
5. Signature and date

The Medical Review team will evaluate the situation and notify the applicant or the broker if the applicant will qualify for the coverage. They will also disclose whether or not there will be a surcharge on the monthly premium for the health insurance coverage. If the pre-screen says that the applicant is still eligible despite the pre-existing condition, that applicant will need to then complete and submit the individual and family application for health insurance coverage.

Posted: May 28th, 2010 under Georgia Individual, Colorado Individual.
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If you are looking to apply for family medical insurance from Kaiser Permanente, now is the time. Rates are going up next month on Kaiser Permanente Georgia Individual and Family Health Insurance. Those who apply now can lock in the current rates for one year. Apply now to get your enrollment forms in before the rate increase. Kaiser Georgia Plans include HMO, Now, Now Plus, Balance and HSA type plans. Most plans cover doctor visits and specialist visits with a copay before the deductible. Call our live support line at 1-877-752-4737 to get quotes or find out about plan benefits.

Kaiser Permanente Georgia Individual and Family Applications must be submitted soon. The last day to submit a paper application is May 28, 2010 at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Kaiser Permanente Georgia Enrollment will be closed on May 31st for the Memorial Day Holiday. For online health insurance applications, the last day for submission will be June 1, 2010 at 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Posted: May 27th, 2010 under Georgia Individual.
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On February 1, 2010, Kaiser Permanente Georgia instituted a new high speed underwriting process for Georgia individual health insurance applications. Clean applications (complete applications without pre-existing conditions) can now be approved within 24 hours of receipt of the application in the underwriting department. This fast approval process is called “jet underwriting”.

In the past, clean applications were taking around one week to be processed, and applications with pre-existing conditions were taking two weeks or longer. This new jet underwriting process will encourage healthy applicants to apply with Kaiser Permanente. In a day and age, when health insurance companies are getting closer and closer to instant approval for some applicants, this will help Kaiser Permanente stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

To qualify for the 24-hour jet underwriting approval, the following must be true:
1. The application must be completed in its entirety. All information needs to be current (i.e. menstrual information, height/weight, SSN).
2. The application agreement must be signed and dated by all applicants over age 18 or a parent/legal guardian if the primary applicant is under age 18.
3. The authorization release must be signed and dated by all applicants over the age of 12. If an applicant is age 12-17 and enrolling individually, a parent/legal guardian must also sign.
4. The applicant must not be a current or prior Kaiser Permanente Georgia member.
5. Applicants must not show a prescription drug history (excluding birth control) as provided by the Milliman Intelliscript report.
6. Premium (check, money order, or credit card info) must be submitted with the application.

If an application does not meet these requirements, normal underwriting procedures will apply.

Posted: March 15th, 2010 under Georgia Individual.
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Kaiser Permanente has made some recent changes to their Underwriting Guidelines. These changes affect newborn coverage and applicants who have used tobacco in the last twelve months. Tobacco users can expect a 20% increase in their premiums. Those applying for Georgia Individual Health Insurance Newborn Baby Coverage (who are not currently Kaiser members) will have to wait until the first of the month after their child has reached 60 days old to get coverage. See below for more details.

Tobacco Surcharge

Will a 20% surcharge automatically be added to the premium for anyone who has used tobacco at anytime in the last 12 months?
A surcharge will be given, but the application will not go through without the member accepting the policy at the new rate. On all surcharge applications, a letter is sent informing the applicant whether they want to move forward with coverage at the new rate.

Newborn Coverage

When applying for a newborn, do parents have to wait 60 days before applying? Do they have to provide the proof of release before being approved?
Parents applying for newborns do not need to wait 60 days to apply as long as they have the proof of release. Once the applicant receives the proof of release, they can apply for coverage. The coverage will not be able to go into effect until the first of the month after the child has turned 60 days old.

Are the newborns of current Kaiser members covered under the mothers plan for the first 31 days?
Yes, if the parents are members their newborn children will be covered for the first 31 days after they are born.

How long do current Kaiser members need to wait before getting coverage for their newborn babies? Will current Kaiser members’ newborn babies be forced to have a break in coverage?
Current Kaiser members do not need to wait until the child has turned 60 days old in order to get coverage. This wait time is only for new applicants, the newborn children of non-Kaiser members. If the parents are current members, the baby will be automatically covered for the first 31 days and can be covered with no break in coverage with a written statement from the parents.

Posted: March 8th, 2010 under Georgia Individual.
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Tomorrow is the Kaiser Permanente Georgia Individual Health Insurance deadline for individual and family applicants. The cut off time is 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. If a customer submits an application after this time, the effective date will be the 1st of January. If you have any questions, please call 1-877-752-4737.

Tomorrow is the last chance to lock in the current 2009 rates. Rates are going up after tomorrow. If you apply today or tomorrow, you can lock in the current rates for one year.

Posted: November 30th, 2009 under Georgia Individual.
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Kaiser Permanente Georgia aims to improve health care and access to quality medical facilities in the Atlanta, Georgia area. In the next two months, Kaiser Georgia will be opening up two new facilities. In November, 2009 Kaiser will open a new facility in Downtown Decatur. The next month, December 2009, Kaiser Permanente will be opening up a facility in East Cobb located at Johnson’s Ferry Road.

We hope this will improve the quality of care and increase access for Kaiser Permanente members in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Also, we would like to see Kaiser increase its membership in this area. More members and additional facilities mean more individuals will have access to the Kaiser Permanente integrated system of managed health care. With more integration of doctors, medical staff, hospitals, clinics and medical records, Kaiser Permanente will be better able to improve the health and quality of life of its members and the residents of the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area.

Posted: October 13th, 2009 under Georgia.
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We recently had a question about a customer applying for herself and her college age daughter. She wanted to get herself and her daughter on a Kaiser Permanente Georgia Family Plan. See below for an explanation of how to apply if you want to include a college student on your family medical insurance plan.

In order to enroll yourself and your college student, start by getting family health insurance quotes. With the first radio button selected (“Individual & Family Plans - Ages 19-64”), enter your Zip Code and click “Get Quotes.” Next, enter your date of birth under self and your son/daughter’s under child. Also, be sure to click the check box for “Full time college student?” to the right of your child’s date of birth. Once your quotes appear, click “Apply” next to the plan of your choice. Then proceed through the application. To make sure that your college student child is put on your family plan and not on a separate individual plan, we recommend that you make a note in the section for additional information that you want to be combined on a family plan.

Also, you will need to get a Student Certification from the college your child is attending and fax it to the Kaiser Medical Review Team at 404-365-4146.

Posted: August 3rd, 2009 under Georgia Individual.
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Kaiser Permanente is proud to announce the addition of monthly T’ai Chi Chuan classes at the Piedmont Park Green Market. The classes are being offered in addition to the monthly healthy cooking demonstrations that Kaiser Permanente currently hosts at the weekly market.

T’ai Chi Chuan is an ancient exercise which embodies China’s most profound concepts and principles of health and movement. Based on softness and awareness (rather than force and resistance) T’ai Chi has been recognized for thousands of years as both a method of self-cultivation and an unexcelled form of self defense. The classes will be held once a month from 9-10 a.m. in the community center. David Dunn, who has studied T’ai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and Chinese martial arts since 1979, will lead the classes.

The classes are on a first come first serve basis.

Class Schedule

• Saturday, July 11

• Saturday, August 1

• Saturday, September 12

• Saturday, October 3

• Saturday, November 7

• Saturday, December 5

Green Market is held every Saturday morning from now until Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is located along the 12th Street entrance to Piedmont Park.

Posted: July 13th, 2009 under Georgia.
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Kaiser Permanente is proud to announce the addition of monthly T’ai Chi Chuan classes at the Piedmont Park Green Market. The classes are being offered in addition to the monthly healthy cooking demonstrations that Kaiser Permanente currently hosts at the weekly market.

T’ai Chi Chuan is an ancient exercise which embodies China’s most profound concepts and principles of health and movement. Based on softness and awareness (rather than force and resistance) T’ai Chi has been recognized for thousands of years as both a method of self-cultivation and an unexcelled form of self defense. The classes will be held once a month from 9-10 a.m. in the community center. David Dunn, who has studied T’ai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and Chinese martial arts since 1979, will lead the classes.

The classes are on a first come first serve basis.

Class Schedule

• Saturday, July 11

• Saturday, August 1

• Saturday, September 12

• Saturday, October 3

• Saturday, November 7

• Saturday, December 5

Green Market is held every Saturday morning from now until Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is located along the 12th Street entrance to Piedmont Park.

Posted: July 13th, 2009 under Georgia.
Comments: none