Kaiser Permanente is the United States' largest integrated health maintenance organization (HMO). In the 1930s and 1940s, Henry Kaiser, chairman of Kaiser Industries, set up a prepaid health plan for the construction, steel-mill and shipyard workers in his employ. These programs evolved into the Kaiser Permanente program which opened to the public in 1945, in Oakland, CA, providing medical care to the public for a prepaid set fee. It now includes offices in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, DC. Kaiser Permanente comprises Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and the Permanente Health Group. Most members join through their employers, with some 8.5 million currently enrolled.

Last updated: April 25, 2006.

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