quality

Kaiser Permanente shone in the recently announced 2012 Medicare star quality ratings published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The California, Northwest, Hawaii and Colorado Medicare plans received the highest overall rating of five stars; and the Ohio, Georgia and Mid-Atlantic States Medicare plans each received 4.5 stars.

Labor and management in every region are working together to make Kaiser Permanente the recognized model for delivery of high quality, affordable health care. And our Labor Management Partnership is a unique part of that model. At the 2011 Union Delegates Conference, LMP Senior VP Barb Grimm caught up with Dennis Deas, senior director of National Performance Improvement, to find out what every team should know to make KP the best—and the best at getting better.

Urgency!

This is the word that comes to mind as we begin the New Year. Merriam-Webster defines urgency as:

The quality or state of being urgent : insistence

A force or impulse that impels or constrains : urge 

When we casually reveal where we work at social gatherings, most of us who work at KP get an earful. Often it’s positive. Some times it’s not. And sometimes friends, relatives or acquaintances ask us if they should join Kaiser Permanente.

If you haven’t heard already, you will be hearing a great deal about “Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans.”

The most significant feature of these quality ratings is the potential for bonuses to be paid to health plans that meet high quality standards. Medicare Advantage accounts for 10% of all Kaiser Permanente business. So what is this all about? Why should frontline Kaiser Permanente union members, physicians, and managers care about this?

We hope you got a chance to attend portions of the Quality Conference. We were in bargaining but have spent some time listening to several of the sessions that are available on-line  through September. It is worth listening to them. One presentation stands out: the Woodland Hills Infusion Center UBT. What an impressive team with some outstanding results!

Many of us are thinking about the opportunities that could open up for Kaiser Permanente with health care reform. Experts talk about Kaiser Permanente as one of the models that could be the “gold standard” of how to provide health care in the country. While the specifics of health care reform are still being defined, it is clear that many people who currently do not have health insurance will have access to coverage.

The Ohio region is one of the hardest hit by the recession. It also has high rates of depression and chronic diseases. Yet KP Ohio has made great strides in improving the quality of care and service members receive and contributing to the overall health of the community. Barb Grimm recently spoke to Belva Denmark-Tibbs, vice president of medical operations in Ohio about the challenges and opportunities facing the region and its teams.

The health care reform law has a name: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590). What’s in a name? In this case, a great deal. 

Our Value Compass and health care reform; it’s a great fit. 

The United States Congress has passed a law that President Obama will sign that will guarantee access to health insurance for nearly everyone who lives in the US. This legislation is a huge step in the direction of making access to health care a right, not a privilege.

Finally.

There is much to be critical and unsure of in the new law. But, I don’t think that is what we should focus on.