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Perry- I don't know how representative my experience is, but Kaiser of Northern California has provided me with excellent care for both my PD as well as other medical problems ( a difficult pregnancy, etc.). I've been with Kaiser for about 7 years. My neurologist diagnosed my PD pretty quickly and in addition to seeing him (a 'regular' neurologist), I also see an outstanding Kaiser neurologist who specializes in PD. Re: surgery, Kaiser is very close to launching it's own pallidotomy program. There are many people on the waiting list and everything is in place except the surgical site itself. Kaiser also covered my thalomotomy two years ago. Since, at that time, they did not have in-house capacity for this specialized surgery, they referred me to and paid for my surgery at UCSF. Overall, Kaiser has been very good to me and the quality of care is excellent. As is true in health care in general, with Kaiser it helps to be educated and knowledgable about what you want and need. At times you need to advocate for yourself or for whoever is receiving care. Another word of advice re: healthcare - find a provider who you are comfortable with, can communicate with, and are confident in their knowledge and skills. If you don't have all of the above with your provider, find a new one! Even in an HMO and a closed system like Kaiser, you can always change providers. Best of luck, Lynn Fielder, 34/2.5 ([log in to unmask])