South San Francisco, CA September 21, 2017 Submitted by Joe Fragola, Kaiser Permanente
For the second consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare and commercial health plans in Northern California, which serve over 4 million members, received the highest ratings from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a national group that rates health plans for consumer experience, prevention and treatment.
In a report published today, NCQA Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2017-18, Kaiser Permanente’s health plans in Northern California were rated 5 out of 5, the only health plan in the country to receive the highest rating for both Medicare and private plans.
The national group analyzed over 1,000 health plans in the nation – private, Medicare, Medicaid – for quality and service. Only 15 health plans in the country, or about 1 percent, were given a 5 out of 5. In all, Kaiser Permanente has six of those highest rated plans; more than any other organization. Other Kaiser Permanente health plans that also received the top rating include Southern California, Hawaii, Northwest and Washington.
NCQA is a national, private not-for-profit organization that surveys health plans for performance in a wide range of clinical service measures. All Kaiser Permanente health plans were rated 4 or higher. In addition, all Kaiser Permanente Medicare health plans were rated highest (or tied for the highest) in the areas they serve. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 11.8 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.
“Our nation-leading NCQA results underscore our commitment to provide the highest quality health care and convenient access our members expect and deserve,” said Janet Liang, President, Kaiser Permanente Northern California region. “The dedication of our outstanding physicians and care teams are reflected in industry-leading outcomes for our patients and members.”
Richard S. Isaacs, MD, Executive Director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, said that being the only organization in the nation to receive this recognition is remarkable, and is a strong expression of the excellence of our dedicated and compassionate physicians and staff.
“As a health care organization that has served our communities for more than 70 years, our excellence is rooted in our clinical experience and evidence-based approach to medicine,” said Dr. Isaacs. “Our integrated model of prevention, early intervention, accessibility and our use of centers of clinical excellence for the most complex diseases makes a huge difference in the lives of our patients.”
The NCQA’s Health Insurance Plan Ratings are 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.
The ratings and methodology are posted on the NCQA’s website at www.ncqa.org and soon will be available onWebMD.com.