Kaiser Permanente will offer health care to Monterey County residents in January with an affordable high-quality option in a county dogged by the highest health care costs in California.

Health care will first be offered to residents in and around the city of Salinas with further expansion in the county at a later date.

A new 22,000 square-foot medical office at 1930 North Davis Road in Salinas just off Highway 101 will open Jan. 2, 2025. Hospital services will be available at the nearby Watsonville Community Hospital, which also serves Kaiser Permanente members in Santa Cruz County.

“Monterey County’s location away from major population centers and a lack of market competition have driven up health-care pricing here, leading to the need for our brand of high-quality, affordable care,” said Rick Bar, Kaiser Permanente Central Coast Area director of Account Management.

Bar was referring to a UC Berkeley Labor Center study showing health care prices in Monterey County were 50% higher than the statewide median from 2018 to 2020. Data from Covered California, where individuals can buy health insurance, show the median monthly premiums for health care in Monterey County for a “bronze” plan was the highest in the state in 2023.

Bar said Kaiser Permanente will begin signing up employer groups from the Salinas area that could include school districts, city and county employees, agricultural and hospitality workers, large and small businesses as well as individuals. Kaiser Permanente already serves about 5,000 members in Monterey County who currently receive care in Santa Cruz, San Jose, or Gilroy.

The new Salinas Medical Office has 20 exam rooms and will offer adult and family medicine, pediatrics, ob-gyn, dermatology, a pharmacy, and radiology and lab services. Specialty care not offered at the new medical office or at Watsonville Community Hospital is available in San Jose, Gilroy, or Santa Cruz.

Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig said Kaiser Permanente will be a welcome addition to her city. In recent years, Kaiser Permanente has made grants of more than $1.3 million to support community health there.

“We are excited at the opportunity for people in Salinas to have more meaningful health care options in our community,” said Craig.

Kevin Hart, Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s senior vice president of Strategic Development and Technology, said the long-anticipated move into the county is just the beginning.

“Aligned with our mission to provide affordable, high-quality and equitable care, we are excited about entering this market, and we look forward to further expansion.”

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