Kaiser Permanente Northwest Named Top Medicare Plan in Oregon and Washington

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Oct 22, 2010, 02:45 ET

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente's Medicare Advantage is the highest-rated private health insurance plan in both Oregon and Washington based on quality and member satisfaction, according to a new ranking by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The NCQA rates Kaiser Permanente Northwest's Medicare Advantage plan as the fourth best in the country. That rating is up 3 places from 2009.

The rankings are based on data collected, analyzed and converted to scores by the NCQA. The three reporting categories include consumer satisfaction, prevention and treatment. "NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings -- Medicare" appears online at www.NCQA.org.

"We are very proud to once again be recognized as the best Medicare plan in the region," said Ellie Godfrey, Quality and Service vice president for Kaiser Permanente Northwest. "Everyone on our integrated team -- clinicians, staff, and health plan employees -- works hard to deliver the very best care to our Medicare members."

Like other Kaiser Permanente health plans, Medicare Advantage members have access to electronic health records and the ability to e-mail their doctors.

The NCQA rankings are calculated based on patient satisfaction scores that measure consumer experiences with receiving care, as well as satisfaction with physicians and health plan services. The rankings also use measures on how often preventive services such as screenings and well visits are provided. Also, the NCQA considers scores on how well health plans take care of patients with chronic health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.

All eight Kaiser Permanente regions are ranked within the top 50 of the 183 nationally ranked Medicare plans, and four of the regions (Northwest, Colorado, Southern California and Northern California) are ranked in the top 10.

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 8.6 million members in nine 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 www.kp.org/newscenter.

About the National Committee for Quality Assurance

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010, NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers, and researchers.

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente