Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
October 10, 2012 at 10:26 AM
After 10 years of serving as chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, George Halvorson announced that he will retire December 2013.
During his tenure, Halvorson spearheaded the decision to implement Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, an enterprise-wide electronic health record system, a decade ago. In the first six months of 2012, members securely viewed 16.7 million laboratory results, exchanged 6.8 million emails with their Kaiser Permanente caregivers and refilled 5.6 million prescriptions online.
Earlier this year, Halvorson was named No. 6 on Modern Healthcare’s annual 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare list. He has been named to each of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare lists since the program was created. He has received the Modern Healthcare/Health Information and Management Systems Society CEO IT Achievement Award. The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange also awarded him the 2009 Louis Sullivan Award for leadership and achievements in advancing health care quality.
Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Halvorson was president and chief executive officer of HealthPartners for nearly 18 years. With more than 30 years of health care management experience, he has also held several senior management positions with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, and Health Accord International.
In his time, Kaiser Permanente received the following honors:
- Earned top ranking in the 2012-2013 National Committee for Quality Assurance Health Insurance rankings for Medicare and commercial HMO plans in each of the states Kaiser Permanente serves;
- Led the nation in several NCQA Quality Compass effectiveness of care measures, including breast cancer screening, weight assessment for children, cholesterol management, asthma care, osteoporosis management and comprehensive diabetes care;
- Had 20 hospitals recognized as “Top Performers on Key Quality Measures” for 2011 performance by The Joint Commission;
- Received five-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for five Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage plans in 2012;
- Ranked highest by J.D. Power and Associates for employer satisfaction nationwide, and five regions ranked highest in member satisfaction.
Halvorson serves on the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care, the IOM Task Force on Making America a Learning Health Care Organization, the American Hospital Association’s Advisory Committee on Health Reform, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High-Performance Health System, and the New America Foundation Leadership Council. He serves on the boards of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the Alliance of Community Health Plans. Halvorson chairs the International Federation of Health Plans and co-chaired the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care for 2010. He is the 2012 social media chair for the Global Health Policy Forum. In 2009, he chaired the World Economic Forum’s Health Governors meetings in Davos, Switzerland.
In other industry news:
The Phoenix Companies, Inc. (NYSE:PNX) made enhancements to its CommandMark single premium fixed indexed annuity series. The new series offers riders, for an additional fee, that can provide consumers with guaranteed lifetime income, the possibility of increasing that income if there is a chronic care need and an enhanced death benefit.
The series is comprised of three base products: CommandMark, CommandMark Plus and CommandMark IR. The three vary by premium bonus level, duration of the surrender charge and premium bonus vesting period. In addition, the series offers additional riders, including the Income Command Rider 2.0 Enhanced, which provides a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) and enhanced chronic care benefit, and the Heritage Rider, which provides an enhanced death benefit.
In states where available, the Income Command Rider 2.0 Enhanced offers a guaranteed lifetime income stream. The income base from which guarantees are derived will increase at a compound roll up rate of 10 percent on CommandMark, and 6.5 percent on CommandMark Plus and CommandMark IR during the guaranteed income accumulation period. In addition, the rider can provide an enhanced income stream equal to double the standard GLWB for up to five years in the event the annuity holder becomes confined to a nursing facility.
The optional Heritage Rider must be purchased in combination with the Income Command Rider 2.0 Enhanced and may offer a death benefit in excess of the annuity value. The benefit provided by the Heritage Rider becomes available after the third contract anniversary and is equal to 50 percent of the difference between the base contract’s annuity value and the income base under the Income Command Rider 2.0 Enhanced during the guaranteed income accumulation period. After the GLWB rider exercise date, the enhanced death benefit is reduced by withdrawals in the same proportion as the annuity value is reduced.
The latest innovations are offered exclusively through the company’s partnership with Legacy Marketing Group.
