Does Kaiser in SoCal cover travel vaccinations?

June 4, 2007 3:41 PM

Are travel vaccinations covered by Kaiser in Southern California?

I'm doing some travel this summer that'll require Hep A, Hep B, and typhoid vaccinations, in addition to a course of antimalarials. I'm insured with Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, but I cannot get a straight answer out of their phone bank as to whether or not any of these are covered. Hep B is briefly mentioned in their literature as being "recommended" for adults, but again there's no description of coverage.

Anyone have any personal experience with this?

posted by mr_roboto to health (7 comments total)

San Francisco Dept. of Public Health has a public clinic that offers travel immunizations at affordable prices. I imagine there are similar agencies in SoCal.
posted by gnutron at 4:14 PM on June 4, 2007

I'm not sure, but I know a lot of vaccinations that you might consider "optional" at Kaiser Permanente are actually free. I went in to get a varicella vaccination because I've never had the chicken pox, and both the initial shot and the booster were free, to my surprise. Of course, I didn't know that until I got there, but I didn't ask ahead of time, either.
posted by infinitywaltz at 4:31 PM on June 4, 2007

Most vaccines that aren't strictly travel-related are free for people who are Kaiser members. You should definitely be able to get your Hep A/B series there, at least.

Call in and schedule an immunization appointment. Get what you can from Kaiser for free, then if you need additional vaccinations, go to your local travel clinic.
posted by toxic at 4:50 PM on June 4, 2007

That I know of, I have never gotten my travel immunizations covered entirely by any insurance, I think because travel is my choice & not a mandatory health issue. I have Blue Shield & had to pay over $100 for the shots I was given last year for my trip to the Middle East. They included all of the Hep shots & stuff. Typhoid too, I believe. I think I declined the malaria shots since they were totally optional and I wasn't going to be in any forests.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:54 PM on June 4, 2007

If Kaiser won't cover the two big antimalarials, Larium and Malarone, you can always use doxycycline, which, being commonly prescribed in the US for non-malarial reasons, they definitely will cover. It doesn't provide you with as fabulous protection as larium or malarone, but it also has fewer unpleasant side effects. I used it quite successfully in malawi, where, if i wasn't using a mosquito net, I would get dozens and dozens of mosquitos bites every night.
posted by bluenausea at 5:04 PM on June 4, 2007

My coworkers who have Kaiser have had their travel vaccinations covered (or mostly covered) by them.
posted by clh at 5:37 PM on June 4, 2007

I have Blue Shield & had to pay over $100 for the shots I was given last year

Kaiser is different. They give all of their members access to most inoculations for free, as a matter of policy (in that it's cheaper for them to vaccinate you than it is for them to pay for your recovery). This is one of the few places where Kaiser's corporate policies are fully aligned with the health of their patients (but that's the subject of another post).

This will definitely cover Hep A/B, Meningitis and Tetanus (anything on the CDC's adult schedule[pdf], really).

Most of the Kaiser facilities I've been in have specific rooms/offices for immunizations and a travel clinic. Try to get the phone bank to transfer you to those departments (or make you an appointment).

[FWIW, I am no longer a Kaiser patient/member]
posted by toxic at 9:28 AM on June 5, 2007