Kaiser Permanente evolved from industrial health care programs for construction, shipyard, and steel mill workers for the Kaiser industrial companies during the late 1930s and 1940s. It was opened to public enrollment in October 1945. In these early years, the success of the health plan was largely the result of support from several large trade unions.
Today, Kaiser Permanente is the nation's largest not-for-profit health plan, serving more than 8.6 million members, with headquarters in Oakland, CA.
Kaiser physicians are employed by the Permanente Medical Groups. They are responsible for providing medical care to Kaiser members.
Some innovations Kaiser brought to U.S. health care
- prepaid health plans, which 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 originated the HMO model of health care and the HMO remains Kaiser's primary method of operation. For the most part, Kaiser members give up access to doctors and hospitals outside the Kaiser system for more comprehensive health care coverage for their premium dollar.
While Kaiser offers individual health plans in several states including, HI, CA, OR, WA, CO, OH, MD, DC, VA, and GA, over 75% of kaiser health plan members are in California.
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