Kaiser Permanente Health Plans Receive High Marks in 'NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2011-2012'

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente continued to demonstrate strong performance and ranked among the top health plans in the nation, in a report published today by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The "NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings" report is published annually and ranks health plans in three categories: Medicare, Medicaid and Private (Commercial). The top four Medicare plans in the country were Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii ranked number seven in the nation for Medicare plans and retained its 2010 position as the No. 2 ranked Medicaid plan in the nation. The six largest Kaiser Permanente plans rated in the top 10 percent for all commercial plans in the country. The two smaller plans rated in the top 20 percent.

"We are proud and deeply honored by being recognized among the top Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid health plans this year," said Jed Weissberg, MD, senior vice president, Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence, Kaiser Permanente. "Our high standing in this year's report underscores Kaiser Permanente's deep commitment for sustained improvement; the dedicated work of our physicians, nurses and care teams; and the value of our cutting-edge electronic health record in helping to support the relentless drive toward the highest quality health care possible."

Now in its sixth year, the "NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings" is based on combined scores for health plans in Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set®, commonly called HEDIS; the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems®, or CAHPS, and NCQA Accreditation standards scores. Consumers and employers assess plans prior to annual enrollment periods.

"Kaiser Permanente's outstanding performance in the NCQA's Health Plan Insurance Rankings across our geographical regions is a testament to our success relative to quality, service, and affordability of our care," said Bernard Tyson, president and chief operating officer, Kaiser Permanente.  "Our efforts are being recognized by these rankings."

In the Medicare category, with 341 plans ranked, Kaiser Permanente had the following national rankings:

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii was the only Kaiser Permanente plan eligible for the Medicaid rankings. The Hawaii plan ranked second in the nation out of 99 plans. Other Kaiser Permanente regions are not required to report data on the full set of measures used to calculate Medicaid rankings and were therefore unranked in this category.

Out of 390 nationally ranked Commercial plans, Kaiser Permanente's operating regions had the following rankings:

• Kaiser Permanente Colorado – 6th
• Kaiser Permanente Southern California – 12th
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California – 14th
• Kaiser Permanente Northwest – 21st
• Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States – 33rd
• Kaiser Permanente Hawaii  – 37th
• Kaiser Permanente Georgia – 52nd
• Kaiser Permanente Ohio – 68th

A key area of focus has been Kaiser Permanente's increasing use of health information technology and its integrated electronic health record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, which is the largest private electronic health record in the world. KP HealthConnect provides members with convenient, 24/7 access to their personal health information and to their care teams, with goals of increasing self-management and improving health outcomes.

Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, associate executive director for Quality at Kaiser Permanente, stated, "Our top rankings recognize Kaiser Permanente's dedicated physicians and care teams and our unique ability to harness the connectivity of our electronic health record to continuously deliver excellent care and achieve superior clinical outcomes every day for our members and patients."

The rankings and methodology are posted on the NCQA's website at www.ncqa.org, and results will also appear in the November issue of Consumer Reports magazine and beginning on Oct. 4, they will also be posted at www.consumerreports.org/health.

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 8.8 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.

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org

For more information:
Keith Paulsen, [email protected], 510-625-5667

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente