Ensuring health access

Ensuring health access

Good health care is essential for maintaining good health. At Kaiser Permanente, we believe in providing the highest quality health care services and ensuring that those who are most in need of health care can get access through Medicaid, medical financial assistance, charitable care and other forms subsidized care and coverage.

Ensuring health access also means that we recognize the importance of the health care safety net for connecting people with wrap-around supports like social services, housing, oral health care, and supports for mental health and addiction treatment.

Subsidized care and coverage

As part of our efforts to ensure health access for those most in need, Kaiser Permanente Northwest offers several options for subsidized care and coverage to qualifying individuals and families, including Charitable Health Coverage, Medical Financial Assistance, and Medicaid.

Safety-net partnerships

Kaiser Permanente is committed to building partnerships with community institutions that play a critical role in delivering health care for the uninsured and underserved, often referred to as the health care “safety net.” Partnering with safety-net providers lets us collaboratively hone our strategies to improve care for patients who face barriers in accessing quality health care.

Oral health

Oral health is an often-neglected aspect of our general state of health and well-being. Conditions of the mouth, teeth, gums, and throat — from dental caries to cancer — cause pain and disability that have been shown to lead to a whole array of other health problems.

Kaiser Permanente Northwest recognizes that oral health contributes to overall health, and we are dedicated to improving the quality and access to affordable oral health care.

Mental health and wellness

Kaiser Permanente Northwest understands the importance of recognizing the social and emotional challenges that individuals and communities are experiencing. We are working to improve the mental health and resilience of our communities through trauma-sensitive systems of care and prevention efforts, addiction treatment programs, and the integration of physical and mental health care in clinical and community settings.