Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s health plan received the highest rating in the state for providing patients with high-quality clinical care and behavioral and mental health care in the annual Health Care Quality Report Card from California’s Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA).
Kaiser’s Northern California and Southern California health plans are the only two in the state to receive OPA’s highest rating – five stars – for “quality of medical care.”
For the fifth year in a row, the Northern and Southern California health plans are the only plans in the state to achieve five stars for overall clinical effectiveness in behavioral and mental health care.
“Kaiser Permanente is consistently recognized as a leader in the state for providing our patients and members with exceptional clinical and specialty care, which positively impacts their overall well-being,” said Carrie Owen Plietz, FACHE, president of Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California region. “Our clinicians are dedicated to delivering the highest quality care to improve the health of our members, patients, and the communities we serve.”
Kaiser Permanente Northern California also received five stars in other specialty care areas including diabetes, cardiac, maternity, and pediatric care. The organization was also rated five stars for appropriateness of tests, treatments, and procedures and preventive screenings.
“Our physicians, nurses, and staff work diligently to help ensure that our patients receive the personalized, coordinated care they need to live longer and healthier lives,” said Maria Ansari, MD, FACC, CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group. “These ratings reflect our ongoing commitment to providing our patients and members with comprehensive high-quality care across many specialty areas, which is having a positive and often life-changing impact on their mental, physical, and emotional health.”
The 2023-24 report card provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the 16 largest HMOs and PPOs in the state. It rates health plans on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of conditions that have significant implications for personal health.
The results from OPA concur with the recent Covered California ratings, which recognized Kaiser Permanente as the only health plan in the state to receive a five-star “Overall Quality Rating”.
Covered California — the state’s marketplace for the Affordable Care Act — also gave Kaiser five stars for “Members’ Care Experience,” which is based on patient surveys asking about their recent experiences when visiting the doctor and getting medical care; “Getting the Right Care,” a measure of care that is given, comparing with the national standards for care and treatments proven to help patients; and “Plan Services for Members,” which analyzes a health plan’s efficiency, affordability, and management.
In addition, Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s health plans were also the highest rated in California — and among the highest in the nation — for overall treatment, prevention and equity, and patient experience by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) 2023 Health Plan Ratings.
Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente currently serves 12.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.
