• Kaiser Permanente was the only health plan in California identified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in its list of best programs in the Pacific states. (The State of Health Care Quality 2003)*

• In the annual report card published by the California Cooperative Healthcare Reporting Initiative, we earned some of our highest marks for treating members after heart attacks, bypass surgery, and coronary angioplasty. We also received recognition for our preventive work that helps members reduce their levels of LDL cholesterol, also known as “bad cholesterol.” (CCHRI Report on Quality, 2003)

• Thirteen Kaiser Permanente hospitals received top marks for low mortality rates among heart attack victims in a study released by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). Only 32 of the state’s 398 hospitals performed “significantly better than expected”—OSHPD’s highest rating category. (February 2002)

• The nation’s leading reviewer of health plans recognized us for our cardiac care: “. . .Health care professionals at Kaiser Permanente Northern California have done something remarkable: They have reduced deaths from heart disease among Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s 3 million members so significantly that it is no longer the leading cause of death in this population, though it remains so in the general population.”

*National Committee for Quality Assurance, State of Healthcare Quality 2003.