Kaiser Permanente plans overview

Kaiser Permanente provides coverage to employer groups, government programs, individuals, and families through two health carriers — Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc.

Also see: Comparison of Kaiser Permanente Plans

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington is a nonprofit membership organization in Washington state that offers HMO (health maintenance organization) plans. With most of our HMO plans, members select a primary care physician to manage and coordinate their care. The plan pays for covered services when a member receives care from a defined network featuring roughly 16,000 providers across Washington state, including Kaiser Permanente Physicians who practice at Kaiser Permanente medical offices and area hospitals. There is no out of network coverage except for medically necessary urgent and emergency care.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc. (registered in Washington and Idaho) is a for-profit subsidiary of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington offering point-of-service (POS) and preferred provider organization (PPO) plans.

• Point-of-service plans: this type of plan pays for services members receive from a subset of providers at the in-network level, and also allows members to receive care from a larger network of providers for, in most cases, higher cost shares.
• Preferred provider organization plans: this type of plan has an extensive network of providers. It does not require a primary care physician to provide referrals.