Kaiser Permanente (; KP) is an American integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield, the organization was initially established to provide medical services at Kaiser's shipyards, steel mills and other facilities, before being opened to the general public.
Kaiser Permanente operates as a consortium comprising three distinct but interdependent entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP) and its regional subsidiaries, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and the regional Permanente Medical Groups. As of 2022, Kaiser Permanente serves eight states (California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington) as well as the District of Columbia and is the largest managed care organization in the United States.
Each Permanente Medical Group functions as a separate for-profit partnership or professional corporation within its specific territory. While these groups do not publicly disclose their financial results, they are primarily funded by reimbursements from the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, one of the largest not-for-profit organizations in the United States. Kaiser employs over 300,000 individuals, including more than 98,000 physicians and nurses. The mixed-profit Kaiser Foundation Hospitals operate 40 hospitals and more than 614 medical offices, similarly funded by reimbursements from the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.
Kaiser Permanente's quality of care is often highly rated, attributed to its focus on preventive care, salaried physicians (as opposed to fee-for-service compensation), and efforts to reduce hospital stays by optimizing patient care planning. It has had disputes with employees' unions, faced charges for falsification of records and patient dumping, been under regulatory scrutiny for the quality of its mental health services, and seen criticism over the size of its financial reserves.
Kaiser Permanente provides care throughout eight regions in the United States. Two or three (four, in the case of California) distinct but interdependent legal entities form the Kaiser system within each region. This structure was adopted by Kaiser Permanente physicians and leaders in 1955.
Each entity of Kaiser Permanente has its own management and governance structure, although all of the structures are interdependent and cooperative to a great extent. There are multiple affiliated mixed profits registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. According to Form 990 governance questions, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan do not have members with the power to appoint or elect board members, meaning that the board itself nominates and appoints new members.
James A. Vohs was appointed CEO in 1978 and chairman in 1980, and he would serve until his retirement in 1992. He was the first chairman to not be a member of the Kaiser family.
David M. Lawrence served as chairman and CEO until his retirement in 2002.
George Halvorson became the chairman and CEO until his retirement in December 2013.
On November 5, 2012, the board of directors announced that Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser's president and chief operating officer for the last two years, would replace Halvorson. Tyson died in November 2019.
Greg A. Adams assumed the role of chairman and CEO in December 2019.
As of 2025, Kaiser Permanente had 12.6 million health plan members, 243,975 employees, 78,730 nurses and 25,505 physicians, 40 hospitals, and 610 medical offices. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals entities, including Risant Health, reported an operating income of $1.4 billion on $127.7 billion in operating revenues.
The two types of organizations which make up each regional entity are:
Kaiser Foundation Health Plans (KFHP) work with employers, employees, and individual members to offer prepaid health plans and insurance. The health plans are not-for-profit and provide infrastructure for and invest in Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and provide a tax-exempt shelter for the for-profit medical groups.
Permanente Medical Groups are physician-owned organizations, which provide and arrange for medical care for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan members in each respective region. The medical groups are for-profit partnerships or professional corporations and receive nearly all of their funding from Kaiser Foundation Health Plans. The first medical group, The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG), formed in 1948 in Northern California, is one of the largest doctors groups in the United States with 11,225 medical professionals and 186 locations at the beginning of 2023. Permanente physicians become stockholders in TPMG after three years at the company.
In addition, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (despite the plural name, a single legal entity) operates medical centers in California, Oregon, and Hawaii, and outpatient facilities in the remaining Kaiser Permanente regions. The hospital foundation entity is not-for-profit and relies on the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans for funding. It also provides infrastructure and facilities that benefit the for-profit medical groups.
Kaiser Permanente is administered through eight regions, including one parent and six subordinate health plan entities, one hospital entity, and nine separate, affiliated medical groups:
In addition to the regional entities, in 1997, the then-twelve Permanente Medical Groups created The Permanente Federation LLC, a separate entity, which focuses on standardizing patient care and performance under one name and system of policies. Around the same time, The Permanente Company was also chartered as a vehicle to provide investment opportunities for the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. One of the ventures of the Permanente Company is Kaiser Permanente Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in emerging medical technologies.