Volcano Press
Volcano, California 95689-0270
June 15, 2001

Alison Giles, Chief of Staff
Ways & Means Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
1162 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Alison Giles:

Attached please find a copy of a letter sent to Kaiser Permanente, a major HMO provider in rural California. Let me start by stating that we have never received an answer.

In the letter the Agency on Aging Advisory Council of Area 12 (five rural counties adjacent to Sacramento, CA) asks Kaiser to discuss the issue of many of its members being "red lined" by zip code.

We understand that this is happening as a result of the inequality in capitation rates between urban and rural areas.

We also understand that this problem was created in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which instructed HMO's to drop members outside their "service centers".

Please include this correspondence as part of "written statements" for the hearing on Rural Health Care Provider and Beneficiary Issues which took place on June 12, 2001.

Sincerely,

Ruth Gottstein

Area 12 Agency On Aging
Sonora, California 95370
March 16, 2001

Lisa Koltun
KAISER PERMANENTE
1800 Harrison Street, 9th floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Dear Ms. Koltun:

The undersigned is a newly formed Health Care Committee for the Area 12 Advisory Council to the Agency on Aging. Area 12 includes five counties: Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne.

This letter also carries the endorsement of the Amador Commission on Aging (see attached).

We would like to meet with representatives of Kaiser Permanente to discuss the problems and impact of being outside the service areas. For seniors, many of whom have been members of Kaiser for over 50 years, this is a tragedy.

Many of us have received notices stating that a decision, based on zip codes, will result in our memberships being terminated. For example, Amador county will be divided by this decision.

At the same time, we constantly see full-page, full-color ads recruiting new members in the Sacramento Bee. We are also aware that Kaiser will be expanding to Elk Grove, Roseville and Folsom, which are nearby communities, and will be lowering members' monthly premiums in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa and Tulare counties.

Our purpose in meeting will be to discover whether there are ways in which our HMO and we can work together to find solutions to our problems, as we value our many years of excellent services from Kaiser.

We propose that the meeting take place in Amador county, and that once the time and place has been set, we can invite legislators, the California Department of Managed Care, and the media to attend.

We thank you in advance for your consideration in responding to our invitation.

Sincerely,

Ruth Gottstein
Chair, Health Care Committee
Area 12 Advisory Council