Clinical Excellence
September 20, 2010
Kaiser Permanente Health Plans Among Nation’s Best in ‘NCQA’s Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2010–2011 — Private’
Kaiser Permanente private (commercial) health plans improved in seven of its eight regions, led by a 9th place ranking for Colorado Region, according to annual rankings by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.*
Kaiser Permanente showed improvement nearly across the board. Out of 227 commercial plans ranked by NCQA, four Kaiser Permanente regions made the top 50: Kaiser Permanente Colorado Region is ranked 9th (13th in 2009**), the Northern California Region is ranked 21st (32nd in 2009**), the Southern California Region is 31st (71st in 2009**) and the Hawaii Region is 47th on the list (86th in 2009**). While the Southern California and Hawaii regions made the biggest moves, jumping 40 and 39 places respectively, another large improvement was made by Ohio, which surged to 85th place in 2010 from 123rd in 2009**, a leap of 38 places. Other Kaiser Permanente regions in the top 100: Northwest 53rd, Georgia 61st, and Mid-Atlantic 73rd.
“The NCQA rankings once again demonstrate Kaiser Permanente’s commitment by physicians, nurses and clinicians to deliver outstanding care and service,” said Jed Weissberg, MD, senior vice president, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence, Kaiser Permanente. “The numbers also reinforce the benefits of Kaiser Permanente’s cutting-edge electronic medical record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®.”
This ranking was previously reported in U.S. News and World Report and included commercial, Medicare and Medicaid rankings, but the 2010 report marks a change in the publication and separation of private (commercial) from Medicare and Medicaid rankings.
The three reporting categories used within this report include consumer experience, prevention and treatment. Kaiser Permanente, on average, had improvement across all three measures, both in absolute percentage performance, as well as relative performance compared to other plans.
“Kaiser Permanente has a long history of promoting consumer engagement and preventive care in health management, through an integrated model of care delivery, focusing on clinical based decision-making, quality outcomes, and the individual needs of each patient,” said Arthur M. Southam, MD, executive vice president, Health Plan Operations, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. “We are greatly honored to be recognized as one of the nation’s top private health plans, based on clinical quality data, member satisfaction, and NCQA accreditation.”
- Communicate and Improve — We are pleased that Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, the world’s largest civilian electronic health record system, is adding even more value by opening new ways for doctors and members to communicate and improve health. With that in place, our members’ personal health records (My Health Manager) on kp.org are helping our members manage their health online. Members can send and receive secure messages to their doctor over the internet, refill prescriptions, make appointments and use dozens of programs and resources to help them stay healthy.
- Availability Services — We are confident that our investment in KP HealthConnect and the addition of our members’ personal health records (My Health Manager) on kp.org is improving service for our members in ways that are not captured by external surveys.
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.
