Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Northern California also achieve the highest possible rating in the state for behavioral and mental health care and other specialty care areas
PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2020 – Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Northern California achieved the highest possible rating for overall quality of medical care in the annual Health Care Quality Report Card issued by California’s Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA).
For the 13th consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, which has 4.7 million members, joined Kaiser Permanente Northern California, which has 4.5 million members, as the only health plans to obtain the OPA’s highest rating. This year, these two health plans are also the only ones in the state to receive a 5-star rating for overall quality of clinical care.
“This recognition is a reflection of our strong commitment to providing the highest quality medical care available to our members through dedicated clinicians, nurses, staff and physicians,” said Julie Miller-Phipps, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and Hospitals of Southern California. “Our members’ health is, and will always be, our top priority.”
Both Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Northern California health plans are the only two in the state to achieve 5 stars — the highest possible rating — for overall clinical effectiveness for several subcategories, including behavioral and mental health care, maternity care, diabetes care and heart care.
“Our physicians and care teams have an unrelenting focus on providing our patients with excellent medical care and services,” said Dr. Edward M. Ellison, executive medical director for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “We’re proud that this rating demonstrates the dedication of our physicians and health care professionals to always deliver safe, high-quality and compassionate care designed around our patients’ and members’ total health care needs.”
The 2020-21 report card provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the 16 largest HMOs and PPOs in the state. It rates them on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of conditions that have significant implications for personal health.
Leading in Clinical Quality
The results from OPA concur with the recent Covered California ratings, which recognized Kaiser Permanente as the only 5-star plan in the state for overall quality. Covered California — the state’s marketplace for the Affordable Care Act — also gave Kaiser Permanente 5 stars for “Getting the Right Care” and “Plan Services for Members.”
Kaiser Permanente is also the only Medicare health plan in California to receive a 5-star rating, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2021 Medicare Star Ratings.
