MHS CHIS

Kaiser Permanente members compared with other community members, 2017/2018

Kaiser Permanente researchers are frequently asked to provide information showing how the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) adult membership compares with the general adult population in the geographic area served by KPNC. To address this request, we analyzed weighted survey data from the 2017/2018 cycle of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) for individuals with home zip codes within the KPNC service area. We analyzed data for two age groups: ages 26-84 (inclusive of Medicare-age adults) and ages 26-64 (excluding Medicare-age adults).

We compared sociodemographic and health and well-being characteristics of self-identified KPNC members with the following groups:

All insured adults who were not KPNC members.
All insured adults.
All adults, including those reporting no health insurance.
All insured non-KPNC members and all insured adults, excluding those covered through Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program).

Compared to all adults (including the uninsured) age 26-84 in the KPNC service area, KPNC members were:

Less likely to be Latinx.
Less likely to have lower educational attainment (high school diploma or less) and more likely to be college graduates.
More likely to be employed.
Less likely to be at <200% of the Federal Poverty Level, less likely to get food stamps and be insured through Medi-Cal, less likely to have a household income <$35,000. In addition, men were more likely to have a household income >$100,000.
Less likely to have fair or poor health and more likely to have very good or excellent health.

Compared to all insured adults aged 26-84 in the KPNC service area, KPNC members were:

Similar with regards to race/ethnicity and educational attainment.
More likely to be working ≥21 hours/week.
Less likely to be in a lower income (<$35,000) household, to be covered by Medi-Cal, to get food stamps, and to consider their financial situation to be poor.
Similar with regards to health and well-being indicators.

The full report, Similarity of adult Kaiser Permanente Members to the adult population in Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California service area: Comparisons based on the 2017/2018 cycle of the California Health Interview Survey, is available here.

Report citation: Gordon NP. Similarity of adult Kaiser Permanente members to the adult population in Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California service area: Comparisons based on the 2017/2018 cycle of the California Health Interview Survey. Report prepared for the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, CA, November 8, 2020.

Available here.
Note: The full report is 57 pages including all tables.