Kaiser Permanente's Medicare Plans In California Get Top National Ratings For Fourth Consecutive Year

Oakland, CA, October 21, 2014 – Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare plans in California again have received an overall rating of 5 stars for parts C and D, the highest rating possible from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Through the Medicare Star Quality Rating System, CMS assigns scores of 1 to 5 stars to Medicare plans based on more than 50 care and service quality measures across nine categories including staying healthy, managing chronic conditions, member satisfaction, customer service, and pharmacy services.

The new 2015 ratings for the state encompass both Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California and Southern California regions, and this is the fourth consecutive year that Kaiser Permanente has been rated the only 5-star Medicare plan in California. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente comprises five of the 11 plans rated with 5 stars for 2015.

“Kaiser Permanente’s consistently high quality scores in the CMS ratings and other national health-care surveys go hand-in-hand with our leadership role in reshaping American health care,” said Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional President Greg Adams. “Our high-quality care and a focus on prevention are keeping people healthier and often preventing illnesses and disease from occurring in the first place.”

The 2015 star ratings for Medicare health plans are available on the Medicare “Plan Finder” on the www.medicare.gov website. Plans that earn 5 stars are designated with a special “High Performing” icon for easy identification.

“The Five Star Medicare rating, combined with the recently released quality ratings from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and our consistently high rating by the California Office of the Patient Advocate, demonstrates the superiority of the health care we provide in Kaiser Permanente compared to the rest of medicine,” said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. “Our physicians, nurses and staff provide medical care that is personalized, technologically advanced and closely coordinated across both inpatient and outpatient settings. The gap between the quality of outcomes we achieve in heart disease, cancer and preventive services compared to what the rest of medicine has to offer is growing year by year.”

Star ratings provide Medicare beneficiaries with information to help them assess health plan quality of care and service delivery to make an informed choice when selecting a Medicare plan. Star ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next.

In addition to receiving high quality service and satisfaction, 5-star excellence means that Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in a 5-star plan starting Dec. 8, 2014 without having to wait until the next annual enrollment period.

Medicare beneficiaries can learn more about the Medicare Star Quality Ratings and Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare plans by visiting www.kp.org/medicarestars, www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan, or by calling Kaiser Permanente at 1-855-817-5831.

# # #

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 9.5 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.