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My Reply from Dr. Jang!
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My Reply from Dr. Jang!

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › My Reply from Dr. Jang!

  • Post
    • July 23, 2019 at 6:16 pm
    MelanomaMike
    Participant
      Heres the reply i recieved from Jang, i cant believe this!……..
      Dear Mr. Pruitt,

      Per Dr. Jang, you can go out of network on your own but
      Kaiser Permanentes does not refer patient’s out of network.

      Sorry for the inconvenience,

      Kim McClellan RN

      Isnt this bullshit? Iv heard of referals being done, why is my case any different? I want a Mel Spc!.. im pissed….

    Viewing 8 reply threads
    • Replies
        • July 23, 2019 at 6:27 pm
        Lucas
        Participant
          I was referred by my oncologist at Kaiser here in Portland, OR. The referral was to Providence to see a melanoma specialist who administered TVEC. Kaiser does do referrals, but mine was decided by the tumor board. It was however denied the first time.
          • July 23, 2019 at 7:12 pm
          Becky
          Participant
            I don’t blame you for being pissed! We were referred to Stanford for my sons melanoma by Kaiser. We have also been referred to UCSF for my other sons epilepsy, So they do refer out of network some of the time! Also..the doctor could have replied himself and not had the nurse do it….
            • July 23, 2019 at 7:20 pm
            NewEra
            Participant
              Add to the letter you send to the Cali Insurance Board that KP staff has now inaccurately represented their process and told you something false.

              You may think I’m being harsh, but ALL of these communications matter. That nurse just lied to you!

              • July 23, 2019 at 7:59 pm
              MelanomaMike
              Participant
                Thank you all, iv read prior MRF posts plus countless Web stories that Kaiser does in fact do referrals to out of Network doctors, they lied and have no compassion, ha, my father inlaw just called me, hes not to happy either, he just gave me a personal phone number of our local District ( something or other, congressman or some service) he or she may be of help to!!.. im calling back to Jasmin, Hamids coordinator now and run down the latest of Kaisers bs….
                  • July 23, 2019 at 9:45 pm
                  lindy303
                  Participant
                    Hi Mike,
                    I can speak from personal experience and knowing how to get around the system from being married to a physician. The nurse that responded to you is acting as the gatekeeper, and you’ll only get help if you’re the squeaky wheel! Send a message to Dr. Jang and just put the subject as “personal question” and ask him to call you. I see that CA has a managed care number if you’re not getting help- http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/?referral=hmohelp.ca.gov or 1-888-466-2219. You should NOT be forced to see a non-melanoma specialist so call, appeal, ask for the practice manager or even email the CEO of your local Kaiser. Go up the chain as far as you need to! I’m sorry that you have to deal with this stress on top of everything and I wish you the best!
                    Linda
                    • July 24, 2019 at 2:08 am
                    kst
                    Participant
                      Mike,
                      Having worked for a large corporation in upper management for years I can give you a few words of advice.
                      1-Call Dr. Hamid and get an appointment-pay out of pocket. All you need is for him to put a plan for treatment together in writing. If you have that it proves Kaiser failed to provide reasonable treatment. This opens Kaiser up for legal action.
                      2-Set up a Go Fund Me account with an explanation of what Kaiser doctors are offering compared to Dr. Hamid out of network. Let everyone know when it is set up and I will donate and I am sure others will also. Make sure everything stated is accurate. Even notes from conversations by phone need to be saved. I can assure you Kaiser records all calls.
                      3-Contact a well known attorney with the email received from the doctors office. Lawyers live for this. They usually have contacts at the local media and are experts at making corporations look bad. After a couple of phone calls I expect you will have your referral. After reading your last few posts I can’t believe it has gotten this far. Kaiser will cringe when your lawyer provides a detailed account of their actions. I can’t tell you how many people I have terminated over the years for minor issues compared to this.
                      When an attorney contacts Kaiser they will get a response from the legal department the same day. They get to avoid all of the red tape and being put on hold. The legal department at Kaiser will want this story to disappear.
                      Wishing you the best,
                      Susanne

                    • July 23, 2019 at 10:42 pm
                    jbronicki
                    Participant
                      Holy crap, this is pretty bogus. I would follow what Lindy, newera and others have said. You are definitely dealing with a gatekeeper but someone needs to show you this policy of not doing out of network referrals . Send another message to Dr. Yang and ask him to call you and then ask him to explain. Document everything as well. I would also say that you are on a patient forum board through the MRF of melanoma patients, many that have gone to Kaiser and have been referred out by their oncologist, so why is your case different as you said. This is completely ridiculous Dr. Yang needs to tell you himself what his reasoning is and what documentation supports this decision by Kaiser. I’m so sorry you have to fight this battle with all you are going through.

                      I found this in the Kaiser Permanente handbook: http://testinfo.kaiserpermanente.org/info_assets/cpp_hi/HI_Authorizations_and_Referrals.pdf

                      Dr. Yang needs to tell you which “criteria” on page 1 that he is denying your out of network referral. As stage 4 melanoma with progression and treatment failure, I believe you overly qualify for melanoma specialist.

                      • July 23, 2019 at 10:49 pm
                      jbronicki
                      Participant
                        you might want to also call the referral department and ask about the process: http://info.kaiserpermanente.org/html/cpp_sca/ordcontacts.html

                        Geez, “Sorry for the inconvenience”, wow…… that’s ridiculous, getting madder by the minute. Sounds like a board review can happen and approve treatment elsewhere. The doctor actually cancelled your only treatment at the time for stage 4 melanoma, hasn’t really provided a new plan with rationale and does not want you to get better care with more treatment options elsewhere!

                          • July 24, 2019 at 2:42 am
                          Johnjk04
                          Participant
                            Jackie I am reading you perfectly clear. Mike is fighting for his life and this RN writes “Sorry for the inconvenience “. KP better get back in the real world and understand their patient’s need for standard medical care. I have seen KP in action – nothing at all to get impressed with.
                          • July 24, 2019 at 12:52 am
                          Johnjk04
                          Participant
                            Mike contact the local papers if they don’t help you write a “letter to the editor”. Do you have any television stations with consumer advocates on them? Use them, you’ve spent plenty of time watching their commercials, they owe you one. Contact your state insurance commissioner, you need assistance in a bad way. Drop Dr. Jang’s and the chief officer of KP address here, the MRF board is ready to lay it down. Send Dr. Hamid an email, tell him your story, sometime wonderful situations can happen. If you can’t access his email, write a letter and personally deliver it. Mike plain and simple, you will be seeing Dr. Hamid, no doubt about that. This is your life that we are fighting for.
                            • July 24, 2019 at 3:00 am
                            Bubbles
                            Participant
                              Did a little research, if you like I think we can all become “FAMILY” and create accounts in order to “contact” “Dr” Jang for our brother Mike!!! Up to you, but I would be happy to tell these folks just how much publicity we are happy to give them if you like. Is this your Jang? https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/southern-california/physicians/sew-chung-jang-3734334

                              And where has Pakanati dropped off to in all of this? Is this her? https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/southern-california/physicians/anuradha-pakanati-8926137

                              Let us know what you want us to do! c

                                • July 24, 2019 at 4:01 am
                                Johnjk04
                                Participant
                                  Give us the word Mike. I am all in.
                                  • July 24, 2019 at 4:41 am
                                  MelanomaMike
                                  Participant
                                    Ha! You guys rock! That would be a fabulous idea! Oh, anf Pakanati is still out til the 29th vacation or whatever…, i called Jasmin, Hamids coordinator, shell call tomorrow morning so, lets see….all you guys are awesome, i can almost feel my tumors shrink cuz of the familyness…love ya guys, im workin on it…
                                    • July 24, 2019 at 10:47 am
                                    Johnjk04
                                    Participant
                                      Ready to write to the Evil Empire Duo. Mike, I just need your last name.
                                      • July 26, 2019 at 2:45 am
                                      MelanomaMike
                                      Participant
                                        Ha! You and the others rock! I do have good news, that doctor i told you all about, Dr Rodriguez says hell treat me if we can find a clinical trial! I spoke with him today, he shares data etc with Dr Hamid. He did say to go see Jang and see what hes offering, i know Rodriguez is on the sidelines in all this, he even agreed that i should call Pakanati (my primary onco) Monday when shes back from her vacation and ask for the Referral to Hamid…i have options!
                                      • July 25, 2019 at 4:22 pm
                                      lkb
                                      Participant
                                        Righteous head nod! Standing by to hear where to direct written outrage on your behalf.
                                          • July 26, 2019 at 2:34 am
                                          Coragirl
                                          Participant
                                            Hey Mike, my husband and I will both write a letter for you. I will help any way I can!
                                            • July 26, 2019 at 3:41 am
                                            MelanomaMike
                                            Participant
                                              Your ALL SO AWESOME! i think i have it handled, lets keep our fingers crossed!
                                              • July 29, 2019 at 5:45 pm
                                              casagrayson
                                              Participant
                                                Keep us posted, Mike. Pens (and fingers) are poised at the ready. They *really* do not want an onslaught from the MRF boards!
                                          Viewing 8 reply threads
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