Press Releases: Northwest
September 21, 2012
Kaiser Permanente Health Plans Rank No. 1 in Northwest for Quality
PORTLAND, Ore. — Two Kaiser Permanente Northwest health plans have been ranked number one in the Northwest for 2012 by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.
For the second year in a row, Kaiser Permanente Northwest’s Medicare and private (commercial) plans received the top ranking among HMO and PPO plans. In addition, the region’s Medicare plan ranked fifth best in the nation, while the private (commercial) plan was ranked 13th best nationally.
The NCQA measures plans in three categories: prevention, clinical treatment and consumer satisfaction. Kaiser Permanente scored in the top 10 percent in the first two categories, and consumer satisfaction scores are improving.
“We want to deliver the best preventive and clinical care possible, and these scores reflect that,” said Jeffrey Weisz, MD, president and executive medical director of Northwest Permanente, PC. “We know that prevention saves lives and helps control medical costs.”
Kaiser Permanente also strives to make it easy for patients to get the care and service they need. “Our investment in our online tools, such as kp.org and our electronic health record, is creating better patient satisfaction,” said Andrew McCulloch, president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan of the Northwest. “We have 4 million Kaiser Permanente members using kp.org — many from their smartphones and other mobile devices.”
Other Kaiser Permanente regions achieved high rankings as well. For commercial plans, six of the eight regions ranked in the nation’s top 20. Four of the eight Kaiser Permanente regions ranked in the top five for Medicare for the second year in a row.
About Kaiser Permanente Northwest
Kaiser Permanente Northwest is part of America’s leading integrated health care organization. Founded in 1945, the organization serves the health needs of more than 9 million people in nine states and the District of Columbia. More than 477,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington receive their medical care from Kaiser Permanente, and 197,000 people receive dental care. A nonprofit health plan, Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. For more information, go to kp.org/nw/hospitals. Follow us on Twitter at @kpnorthwest.
