Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Earnings Support Investments in Member and Commun...( OAKLAND Calif. Nov. 7 /- Kaiser F...),Health

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries (KFHP/H) reported total operating revenue for the third quarter ending September 30, 2007, of $9.4 billion, as compared to $8.7 billion in the same period last year.

KFHP/H's operating income for the third quarter was $449 million, as compared with $355 million during the same period of 2006. Ongoing efforts to address health care delivery costs and administrative efficiencies have contributed to these results.

In addition to operating income, non-operating income increased to $205 million during the third quarter of 2007, compared to $62 million in the third quarter of 2006. This improvement is directly attributable to strong performance in the financial markets, contributing to strong returns on investments in 2007. However, the credit and equity markets remain volatile and past performance is not an indicator of future performance. This resulted in net income for the third quarter 2007 of $654 million, as compared with $417 million in the third quarter of 2006.

Capital spending totaled $641 million for the third quarter of 2007, as compared to $631 million in the third quarter of 2006. Year-to-date capital spending for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $1.8 billion, compared to $1.9 billion spent during the same nine-month period of 2006.

According to KFHP/H Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kathy Lancaster, the organization's performance will allow continued investment in facilities and technologies needed to serve current members and to expand into contiguous areas. It will also support reduction in the rate of premium increases. "Our third quarter operating results reinforce that we are continuing to gain traction on efforts to improve expense trends, which will help us to meet our goal of reducing the rate of increase in premiums," she said.

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