Applauding CMS’s national roll-out of quality ratings

“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ decision to expand access to quality and customer satisfaction data to all health insurance exchange customers for the 2020 open enrollment period is great for the country,” said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO, Kaiser Permanente “Similar to the system used in Medicare Advantage, exchange customers will now be able to compare carriers on a 5-star rating system based upon customer satisfaction and quality metrics. We believe wider access to meaningful quality data improves transparency and helps customers make better, more informed choices for their health and health care.”

In the most recent annual report for the National Committee for Quality Assurance, which rated more than 1,000 health plans around the country, including Medicare, Medicaid, and private (commercial) plans, Kaiser Permanente scored at or near the top.

• Only 14 health plans in the country (approximately 1%) received a top 5.0 rating, and Kaiser Permanente had 9 of the 14.
• Kaiser Permanente had the highest-rated commercial and Medicare plan (or is tied for the highest) in every geographic region it serves. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 12.3 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia.
• For the third year in a row, Kaiser Permanente was the only health care organization in the country to have a health plan rate 5.0 for both its Medicare and commercial populations.