Our mission of community health
Kaiser Permanente exists to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.
We deliver on our mission every day and strive to find ways to lower the cost of care and coverage. We also support members and patients who have trouble paying for care.
Improving the health of communities means going beyond the walls of our hospitals and doctors’ offices. Where people live, work, and play has a major effect on their health — for better or worse.
For more than 80 years, we’ve provided care and coverage while also investing in the factors that shape health in our communities.
Expanding access to care and health
Health care in America costs too much. When people can’t afford to get the care they need, they get sicker. Often, they end up in the emergency room, which costs everyone more.
But when people get the right support at the right time, health improves. Care can become more effective and ultimately more affordable for everyone.
In 2025, we worked to expand access to care and coverage. We did this in a number of ways.
- Medicaid — Our Medicaid plans are among the highest-rated in the nation. We partnered with states to help 1.5 million people receive no-cost or low-cost health coverage and care through our highly rated Medicaid plans and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program).
- Medical financial assistance — We provided short-term financial help to 1.2 million patients through our Medical Financial Assistance program.
- Charitable health coverage — We gave health coverage to 13,600 people who didn’t qualify for other coverage through our Community Health Coverage Program.
- Community health center support — We funded and partnered with community clinics and health centers so they could improve care and reach 1.1 million people.
- Kaiser Permanente Community Support Hub® — We’ve connected 1.5 million members to community services through our Community Support Hub, which marked its fifth year in operation in 2025. Our clinicians can refer people to the hub, just as they would another type of specialist. The hub in turn connects people to trusted local organizations that can help people with their everyday needs, such as help applying for public benefits.
$4.4 billion
Invested in access to care, local programs, research, and growing the workforce
1.5 million
Members connected to government benefits or community programs
1.5 million
People enrolled in no- or low-cost health coverage and services
Improving health in our communities
Where you live, what you eat, your school environment, and more — it all affects your health.
Housing and health
We help people stay in their homes. And, we expand access to affordable housing.
We also provide grants to medical respite programs. These programs offer medical care and short-term housing to homeless people after time spent in the hospital.
In 2025, we partnered with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council to develop a new certification program for medical respite centers. Certification helps ensure medical respite programs provide consistent, high-quality care.
In 2025, 27 programs in our service areas began the certification process.
3.7 million
Members screened for basic needs such as access to housing and food
110,000
People helped with applying for grocery benefits
Healthy food
It’s hard to get and stay healthy when you don’t have enough nutritious food.
We provide healthy meals and nutrition education as part of our care to members who need it. We also connect people to community resources, including federal food assistance and local food banks.
Through partnerships with food banks and local organizations that deliver medically tailored meals, we helped 87,000 people stay healthier in 2025. We also helped 110,000 members apply for help with grocery costs.
Healthy schools
Since 2013, we’ve worked with schools in our communities to improve the health of students, faculty, and staff.
In 2025, we launched Attendance as a Vital Sign. Physical health, mental health, and social needs all influence whether students can get to school, making attendance a key indicator of unmet needs. This initiative treats chronic absences as a health issue.
We’re working to reduce preventable absences and support student well-being.
Healthy environment
We’ve long worked to reduce our organization’s environmental impact.
In 2025, we opened the largest hospital-based renewable energy microgrid in the country at our Ontario Medical Center in Ontario, California.
The microgrid provides clean, low-cost power to our medical center, reducing air pollution in the community. It also provides backup power during outages, helping keep patients safe during emergencies.
Public health
We work with public health organizations to help keep our communities safe and healthy.
In 2025, we supported access to vaccines during the fall respiratory virus season.
We also worked to protect teens and kids from flavored tobacco.
And, we’re researching ways to reduce firearm injuries and deaths.
Helping in times of emergency
When disasters hit, people need help, and the people of Kaiser Permanente step in to provide compassionate care and support.
In light of our mission, we go beyond meeting medical needs. When wildfires devastated several communities in the Los Angeles area in January 2025, our care team members staffed shelters and set up emergency care sites.
We also turned one of our office buildings into a support hub, open to anyone affected by the wildfires. At the hub, more than 20 nonprofit groups offered food, financial help, counseling, and supplies. More than 2,400 families signed up for long-term help and got financial support.
In total, Kaiser Permanente gave nearly $7 million to support families, first responders, and recovery work.
In December 2025, heavy flooding damaged homes and disrupted communities in Washington state. We reached out to 34,000 of our members to provide safety updates and information about care and local support.
All data shown in this report is as of December 31, 2025.