Kaiser Permanente Recognized

Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California health plans are the only plans in the state to receive 5 stars -- the highest possible rating -- for overall quality of medical care in the annual Healthcare Quality Report Card from California’s Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA). In addition, Kaiser Permanente Northern California is the only health plan in the state to earn 5 stars for overall clinical effectiveness in behavioral and mental health care.

For the 11th consecutive year Kaiser Permanente’s two California plans have been the only plans to obtain the OPA’s highest rating. Last year, Kaiser Permanente Northern California was also the state’s highest rated plan for behavioral and mental health.

The 2018-2019 report card provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the 16 largest HMOs and PPOs in the state. It rates them on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of conditions that have significant implications for personal health.

“Our care teams make quality care a top priority and this recognition reflects their commitment to providing, safe, reliable care to everyone we serve,” said Janet Liang, President, Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “We are proud that our members and patients can rely on us for high quality care and this consistent recognition is testament to the power and effectiveness of our integrated model of care delivery.”

This year, Kaiser Permanente Northern California also received top scores for asthma and lung disease care, preventive screenings, diabetes and heart care, maternity care, providing appropriate tests, treatments and procedures and for providing the right care to children.

For “Patients Rate their Experience,” a category that measures member satisfaction with their care and services, Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California were rated 4 stars – no other health plan in the state was rated higher.

“Elite ratings like these demonstrate the dedication of our physicians and staff and I’m very proud of the compassionate and high-quality care which defines our work every day,” said Richard S. Isaacs, MD, CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group. “These 5-star ratings, particularly when it comes to delivering mental health care to our members and patients, underscore that we are delivering the best medical care in our industry.”

Covered California – the state’s marketplace for the Affordable Care Act – also gave Kaiser Permanente 5 stars (the highest possible) in its health plan quality ratings for 2019.

In the “Individual and Family Plan” ratings, Kaiser Permanente received top scores for overall quality, getting the right care, and plan services for members. Kaiser Permanente obtained 4 stars for member care experience. No other health plan rated higher than Kaiser Permanente in any of these categories.

Kaiser Permanente also earned 5 stars in Covered California’s “Small Business Plan” category for overall quality, getting the right care, and plan services for members. No other health plan rated higher.

*Health plan quality ratings are calculated by Covered California using data the plans provided to the federal government in 2017. Qualified Health Plans (QHP) contract with approved survey vendors that independently conduct the QHP Enrollee Survey each year. Quality ratings and QHP Enrollee Survey results may change from one year to the next. For more information, please see CMS’ Health Insurance MarketplaceSM Quality Initiatives website at: http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityInitiativesGenInfo/Health-Insurance-Marketplace-Quality-Initiatives.html.