Prestigious Award for Kaiser Permanante Health Insurance and Healthcare Organization

Many different people have Kaiser Permanente health insurance from a wide variety of economic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds in a variety of geographic settings across the United States.  With networks such as Kaiser Denver, Kaiser Southern California, Kaiser Northern California and Kaiser’s operating network for the Pacific Northwest, countless individuals and families have access to their healthcare on the West Coast.  And with Kaiser Permanente Atlanta, Georgia and other networks serving the Mid-Atlantic States and Washington, DC, East Coast residents have access to Kaiser’s services as well.  With so many different people served, it is no surprise that Kaiser Permanente was recently awarded the prestigious “Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Award” by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

The Kaiser Permanente health insurance and healthcare organization received this prestigious award for their efforts to reach across cultural and language barriers and provide health plan members with care that meets their unique needs.  The organization looked at Kaiser’s regional operating networks across the nation including Kaiser Permanente Atlanta, Georgia and all the other regions they serve and noticed a pattern of innovative efforts to improve care for its culturally diverse members.  This “is a model for the nation and other health plans across the country,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. “One in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home,” she added.  “Racial and ethnic differences result in substantial health disparities for millions. It is imperative that more plans follow Kaiser Permanente’s lead.”

The West Coast, which includes regional networks such as Kaiser Denver and Kaiser Northern California, was particularly impactful for the recognition of this award. Kaiser led research and development in California for an overarching strategy in language concordance, for example, to address the lack of validated testing standards, measures and tools for patient-provider language concordance.  Thanks to funding from The California Endowment, and in collaboration with Alameda Alliance for Health, the foundation for standards and systems for assessing provider linguistic proficiency was established. 

This collaborative effort also helped to develop the Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment, which is the first and only validated and reliable language assessment tool specifically tailored to assess clinicians who self-report that they speak a language other than English.  It was also responsible for establishing a standard level in which they can effectively communicate without interpreters.