Press Releases: Southern California
September 13, 2005
Kaiser Permanente Earns Top Ranking in California Health Plan Report Card
PASADENA, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region earned the top rating in the just released 2005 HMO Quality report from the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA.) Kaiser Permanente Southern California was the only health plan to earn two excellent or three star ratings. Those came in categories described as Care for Getting Better and the Member’s Rating of their Health Plan. Overall the OPA report showed Kaiser Permanente Southern California with ten of a possible twelve stars. Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Region was the next highest rated plan with nine stars.
Kaiser Permanente Southern California also led the way in clinical quality, with eleven top scores in the 29 clinical measures cited in the report. For example, 84 percent of children receive the four vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control by the time they are two years old. Diabetic patients were most likely to receive eye exams to watch for a disease that can cause blindness and kidney function tests to watch for signs of kidney damage at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
“This demonstrates the superb quality offered by Kaiser Permanente. We believe the clinical measures are valuable for consumers when they choose where they will go for health care,” said Jeffrey Weisz, M.D., Executive Medical Director and Chairman of the Board of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “This report card should give them confidence that they are in good hands and will thrive with Kaiser Permanente.”
Kaiser Permanente Southern California was the only health plan in California to rate good or excellent in all four categories measured by the OPA report card and was the only health plan to rate two stars or good in the category, Care for Staying Healthy. “This is a testament to the people of Kaiser Permanente who come to work each day with one goal in mind—to keep our members healthy and prevent illness,” said Benjamin Chu, M.D., President of Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
