Kaiser Permanente is an
integrated managed care consortium, based in
Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist
Henry J. Kaiser and physician
Sidney Garfield. Kaiser Permanente is made up of three distinct but interdependent groups of entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and its regional operating subsidiaries; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and the regional Permanente Medical Groups. As of 2014, Kaiser Permanente operates in eight states and the
District of Columbia, and is the largest
managed care organization in the United States.