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Health & Fitness

Kaiser Permanente's Medicare Plans in California Get Top National Ratings For Third Consecutive Year

Only one health plan in California merits the maximum 5-star rating by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for excellence in care and service

Oakland, CA, October 15, 2013: – Kaiser Permanente announced today that its Medicare plans in California again have received an overall rating of 5 stars for parts C and D, the highest rating possible from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Through the Medicare Star Quality Rating System, CMS assigns scores of 1 to 5 stars to Medicare plans based on more than 50 care and service quality measures across nine categories including staying healthy, managing chronic conditions, member satisfaction, customer service, and pharmacy services.

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For the first time, all of Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare health plans have earned 5 stars. The 5-star rating applies to Kaiser Permanente’s 2014 Medicare health plans that operate in California, Hawaii, Colorado, Georgia, Mid-Atlantic States (Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia) and Northwest (Oregon and Washington).

The new 2014 ratings for the state encompass both Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California and Southern California regions, and this is the third straight year that Kaiser Permanente has been rated the only 5-star Medicare plan in California. 

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“Kaiser Permanente’s top priority is providing high-quality, affordable health care for all of our members,” said Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional President Greg Adams. “The 5-star designation from CMS demonstrates that our Medicare members, like all 7 million members in California, are beneficiaries of Kaiser Permanente’s focus on quality and prevention --  a focus that is keeping people healthier and often preventing illnesses and disease from occurring in the first place. Our commitment to providing the right care, at the right time, in the right place, is saving and improving lives.”

The 2014 star ratings for Medicare health plans are available on the Medicare “Plan Finder” on the www.medicare.gov website. Plans that earn 5 stars are designated with a special “High Performing” icon for easy identification.

“Our physicians and staff are dedicated to providing every patient with the best medical care possible, starting with prevention and including the most advanced and sophisticated tertiary procedures,” said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. “Much of our success reflects the excellence of our clinicians and their flexibility in offering patients access to care when it is most convenient for them and in the way they prefer -- including in person, by telephone, and by secure messaging. By providing coordinated medical care and greater ease of access, we are able to achieve outstanding medical outcomes for clinical problems ranging from the most common to the most complex – the very things that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is trying to encourage among all of American health care.”

Star ratings provide Medicare beneficiaries with information to help them assess health plan quality of care and service delivery to make an informed choice when selecting a Medicare plan. Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system. Star ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. 

In addition to receiving high quality service and satisfaction, 5-star excellence means that Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in a 5-star plan starting Dec. 8, 2013 without having to wait until the next annual enrollment period.

The 2014 Star ratings are consistent with the recently released National Committee for Quality Assurance ranking of the nation’s health plans, in which Kaiser Permanente comprised the top 5 Medicare plans in the country. Southern California and Northern California ranked No. 1 and 2 in the U.S., respectively.

Medicare beneficiaries can learn more about the Medicare Star Quality Ratings and Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare plans by visiting www.kp.org/medicarestars, www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan, or by calling Kaiser Permanente at 1-855-817-5831.

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 9.1 million members in eight 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: kp.org/share.

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