U.S. News & World Report Names Kaiser Permanente Top-Ranked Health Plan ...( Health plan ranked 53 out of 250 ...),Health

Health plan ranked 53 out of 250 nationwide in annual 'America's Best Health Plans' issue

ATLANTA, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of health plans placed Kaiser Permanente of Georgia first in the state for the third straight year and #53 of 250 plans ranked nationally.

The magazine, on newsstands Nov. 5, 2007, also ranked Kaiser Permanente's Medicare plan 21st out of 151 plans -- making it the top Medicare plan in the state for 2007 and one of the top 25 Medicare plans in the nation.

A significant factor contributing to Kaiser Permanente's rise in the rankings was its performance in the areas of prevention and screening. Carolyn Kenny, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., said both of these areas -- as well as many others -- have been enhanced in recent years with the addition of KP HealthConnect, Kaiser Permanente's state-of-the-art electronic medical record system.

"KP HealthConnect helps our doctors in delivering the best care to our members. It adds even more value by providing new ways for doctors and members to communicate, ultimately improving the member's health. This access allows members to send and receive secure messages from their doctor over the Internet, refill prescriptions, make appointments and use dozens of programs and resources to help them stay healthy," Kenny said.

The basis for the rankings is data collected, analyzed and converted to scores from zero to 100 by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), managed care's major accrediting body. The three reporting categories include consumer experience, prevention and treatment. Kaiser Permanente of Georgia's score of 85.2 gave it the highest score of any plan in Georgia.

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Kaiser Permanente is the state's largest nonprofit health plan, serving the health care
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