About Kaiser Permanente

Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente is the nation's largest nonprofit health plan, serving 8.2 million members, with headquarters in Oakland, California. It is made up of:

  • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.
  • Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries
  • The Permanente Medical Groups
  • an affiliation with Group Health Cooperative based in Seattle
At Kaiser Permanente, physicians are responsible for medical decisions. The Permanente Medical Groups, who provide care for Kaiser Permanente members, continuously develop and refine medical practices to help ensure that care is delivered in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

Kaiser Permanente was born out of the challenge of providing Americans medical care during the Great Depression and World War II, when most people could not afford to go to a doctor. Among the innovations it has brought to American health care are:
  • prepaid insurance to spread the cost to make it more affordable
  • physician group practice to maximize their abilities to care for patients
  • a focus on preventing illness as much as on caring for the sick
  • an organized delivery system, putting as many services as possible under one roof

Kaiser Permanente is distinguished from other health care organizations in a variety of ways:
  • Revenues are devoted to patient care rather than shareholder profit.
  • Facilities and services are nationally accredited.
  • Kaiser Permanente receives consistent high marks in quality measurement and member satisfaction surveys conducted by outside experts. As of September 2003, six KP regions were awarded top national and regional ratings in the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) 2003 State of Health Care Quality report.
  • Kaiser Permanente research centers are dedicated to advancing medical knowledge and improving the delivery of medical care.
  • An historic labor management partnership was forged with the AFL-CIO, the first of its kind in health care.

    An automated medical record system was announced in 2003, a model that will revolutionize the way health care is delivered.

Membership: 8.2 million

States: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C.

Hospitals: 30

Medical office buildings: 431

Employees: 136,511

Physicians: 11,000 (approximate)

Operating revenues (for year ended December 31, 2002): $22.5 billion