Kaiser Permanente: The World's Largest Labor-Management Partnership

My perspective on healthcare is that of an insider, both in terms of receiving my health care from Kaiser Permanente, being a provider of health care at KP, and being an integral part of the Partnership between labor and management that has been growing in scope and power at KP since 1997.

I am a member of a coalition of 82,000 union members from six Internationals and 29 local unions who operate in partnership with 20,000 KP managers and 12,000 physicians at Kaiser. I participated in bargaining the second five-year National Agreement between KP and its union members in 2005; an agreement which supplements each union's local labor contract.

Kaiser Permanente and unions have a linked history. Back in the 1940s, Kaiser Permanente was built with help from unions who were dedicated to providing, for the first time in American history, affordable, quality health care for 30,000 workers building ships for the World War II. In fact, KP was so closely associated with the unions that in the 1950s, the American Medical Association was openly hostile to the organization.

Now there are 8.3 million Kaiser Permanente members. The majority of hospitals are located in Northern and Southern California but Kaiser also provides services in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and Washington DC.

Kaiser is the only HMO health provider that maintains its own dedicated staff (members of the Permanente Medical Groups), its own hospitals and clinics, and its own health plan. There is no insurance paperwork to be completed by members. Plans are available for individuals, families, businesses, and Medicare recipients. Access online is available for instant insurance quotes, applications, location of services. Even non-members can access information on Mind & Body Health and Drug and Health Encyclopedias. Members can also make appointments, choose a physician, contact their primary care and specialty physicians, and refill prescriptions online.