I agree with some of that. Kaiser does tend to be the cheapest and best at keeping costs under control, although I'd argue that it's the mostly closed-loop HMO model that's responsible for most of that (almost like a Costco model). You have to use their doctors and their facilities, and they can control costs much better that way.

But having said that, even Kaiser costs and premiums have soared over the last decade (just not quite as badly as most others), illustrating that the bulk of the problem goes way beyond what you and I have discussed in these two posts.