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News release: Colorado - Denver/BoulderNovember 2, 1999 For more information, call: Newsweek ranks Kaiser Permanente of Colorado 16th in nation Denver, CO – Kaiser Permanente of Colorado ranks 16th in the nation in quality, Newsweek magazine reports in this week's issue. It is the fourth year that Newsweek has ranked health maintenance organizations, and the Colorado region of Kaiser Permanente has been in the top 20 every time. There never has been another Colorado plan ranked ahead of Kaiser Permanente. The Newsweek rankings were based on quality scores compiled by the independent National Committee for Quality Assurance. Those scores measure the number of health plan members receiving preventive care, the members' ratings of their doctors and their satisfaction with services. "The Newsweek ranking is recognition of the fabulous team of people we have working at Kaiser Permanente -- the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and support staff," said Chris Binkley, president of Kaiser Permanente's Colorado region. "We've achieved superb quality scores by setting the bar higher every year, and we'll continue to strive to improve quality and service in the years ahead." The only other Colorado health plan that made the magazine's list of top 100 health plans is HMO Colorado, ranked 98th. Kaiser Permanente is unlike most health maintenance organizations in the country. It is nonprofit, so members' premium dollars go only toward health care, facilities, equipment and administration. In the Denver/Boulder metro area, its 526 physicians care exclusively for Kaiser Permanente members, and make health care decisions without having to clear them first with an insurance claims adjuster. Care is coordinated between on-staff primary care physicians, specialists, clinical pharmacists, counselors and therapists. Kaiser Permanente's Colorado region consistently fares well in national quality measures. In this year's National Committee for Quality Assurance scoring, the region scored in the top 10 percent nationally in eight of ten critical care areas. A major consumer magazine this year ranked the Colorado plan seventh in the nation. And the Sachs Group, which monitors the health care industry, put Kaiser Permanente of Colorado on its 1999 HMO Honor Roll, based on member loyalty and satisfaction with preventive-care programs. Only five other health plans in the nation were named to the honor roll, none from Colorado. Kaiser Permanente is the oldest health maintenance organization in Colorado, celebrating 30 years in Denver. It cares for 358,000 members in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs.
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