Kaiser Permanente's California Health Plans Rated Highest for Quality for Seventh Consecutive Year

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Oct 16, 2014, 05:03 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- One of California's most respected health care rating systems — the Office of the Patient Advocate — this week recognized Kaiser Permanente's health plans as having the highest quality in the state for the seventh consecutive year.

The California OPA ratings showed that Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Kaiser Permanente Southern California are the only health plans in California to earn a four-star rating — the highest possible — for overall quality of care in the OPA's annual Healthcare Quality Report Card.

The annual report card by the Office of the Patient Advocate provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the largest health plans in the state, ranking them on several national "quality of care" and "member care experience" measures. Clinical measures include cancer screenings, diabetes care, heart care, hypertension treatment, maternity care and other quality-of-care measures. No other health plan received the top rating for overall clinical care measures.

For more information, please read the Northern California and Southern California press releases.

The 2014 OPA ratings follow several other recent honors received by Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Southern California health plans and hospitals:

Kaiser Permanente's Medicare plans in California received a 5-star rating for 2015, the only health plan in the state to get the top rating, and one of only 11 plans in the nation to get a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Approximately 400 plans were rated nationwide, and 2015 was the fourth straight year that Kaiser Permanente in California received 5 stars.
Kaiser Permanente commercial health plans in Northern California and Southern California were ranked in the top 10 among more than 500 in the nation, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance's 2014 survey of health plans.
Nineteen Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California were named Top Hospitals in 2013 by the Leapfrog Group. Only 55 urban hospitals in the nation — of more than 1,100 surveyed — received this honor.
Thirty-five Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California received "A" grades in the Leapfrog Group's 2014 Safety Scores.
Kaiser Permanente members rated the organization's health plan highest in member satisfaction in California for the seventh consecutive year in the 2014 U.S. Member Health Plan study by J.D. Power and Associates.

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.

Contact:

Mark Camps
510- 625-5624 (work)
510-529-1854 (mobile)
[email protected]

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente