Kaiser Permanente expansion on schedule in Santa Cruz County

Aug. 11--SCOTTS VALLEY -- As Kaiser Permanente readies three clinics to open Jan. 1, a key player in the expansion into Santa Cruz County is Dr. Cal Gordon, a pediatrician who grew up in Scotts Valley when it was rural and graduated from Soquel High and UC Santa Cruz.

Gordon, 67, recalled the various jobs he did before becoming a doctor: working in blueberry fields, at the Pacific Cannery and as an orderly at Community Hospital.

Majoring in philosophy at Cowell College, he realized he liked science and took a fifth year at UCSC for premed studies.

"I never regretted it," he said.

He's not ready to retire from medicine.

"I continue this because I love what I do," he said.

In Watsonville Wednesday for the opening of KP Shop, where representatives answer questions about coverage, he pointed out, "I speak Spanish."

Kaiser Permanente gave him a leadership award in 2007, describing him as someone who innovates to solve problems. He led the development of "Appointment and Advice" call centers for members and sponsored a center on the autism spectrum disorder and another for patients with difficulty sleeping.

"Our goal is for people to be seen when they want to be seen," he said. "We give our members choices. They can come in, get a phone call, a video visit or messaging."

He expects 15 primary care physicians, which includes family practitioners, internists, pediatricians and ob-gyn, will staff the three clinics, which will be in Scotts Valley, Watsonville and downtown Santa Cruz.

A majority of those physicians live in Santa Cruz County and have been commuting to work in San Jose or Santa Clara, Gordon said.

Two psychiatrists and a clinical social worker-manager will be split among the three clinics.

"Our goal is for them to have their own space," Gordon said, anticipating that will take six months to a year.

Renovations are underway at clinic sites at the Granite Creek Business Center in Scotts Valley and the Crossroads Center in Watsonville. Both require more work than the site on Locust Street in Santa Cruz vacated by Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Gordon expects all three clinic sites to be ready at the same time and open Jan. 1.

"Everything is on schedule at this point," he said.

Kaiser is moving into a market where health insurance provided by employers is the most expensive of 274 metro areas, according to a 2015 study by independent researcher Bruce Boissonault concluding the reason is lack of competition among providers.

For 2017, Covered California enrollees can choose Kaiser Permanente's health maintenance organization, which offers rates lower than its three competitors.

Preliminary rates for a "silver" plan show a 40-year-old earning $47,520 would pay $371 per month for Kaiser, $376 for Blue Shield's HMO and $497 for Blue Shield's preferred provider plan.

Premiums are higher for Health Net, $469 a month, and Anthem, $522 a month. Health Net and Anthem are "exclusive provider" plans, which means services by doctors outside the network are not covered.

A higher-earning 40-year-old ineligible for subsidies would pay $412 per month for a "silver" plan at Kaiser, according to Covered California, $417 a month for the Blue Shield HMO, $510 for Health Net's exclusive provider plan, $538 for Blue Shield's preferred provider plan and $563 for Anthem's exclusive provider plan.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which participates in Health Net's SHOP plan for small business and Blue Shield offerings on Covered California, is in negotiation with both health plans about participating in their Covered California plans for 2017.

KAISER PERMANENTE

What: Nonprofit integrated health care system.

Headquarters: Oakland.

2015 operating revenue: $60.7 billion.

Members: 10.6 million members, 3.96 million in Northern California, 5,800 in Santa Cruz County.

Unsubsidized 2017 silver rates: 25-year-old, $324 a month; 40-year-old, $412 a month.

Covered California: Available for 2017, clinics to open in Scotts Valley, Watsonville and Santa Cruz.

KP Shop: 1878 Main St., Watsonville, open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Information: Kaiserpermanente.org.

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