Dale Crandall, CFO, to Become President of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--March 30, 2000

Dr. David M. Lawrence, chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Inc. (KFHP/KFH), today announced the appointment of Dale Crandall as president of KFHP/KFH.

Crandall, currently chief financial and administrative officer, will assume overall responsibility for internal operations, filling a role left vacant by the retirement of Dick Barnaby in 1999.

"The change will enable us to improve our ability to focus our work and complete our three-year turnaround plan," explained Dr. Lawrence. Lawrence will remain as chairman and CEO focusing on legal, regulatory and public policy leadership, particularly in the area of quality and patient safety. Lawrence has been a prominent leader in the current effort to focus national attention on the issues of patient safety.

Crandall, who joined the organization in June of 1998, has played a key leadership role in Kaiser Permanente's recent financial improvement.

"I look forward to meeting the challenges inherent in sustaining our 1999 performance gains and achieving the added performance improvements called for by our turnaround plan. The health care industry is unique, but I'm confident that working with Dr. Lawrence we will continue to achieve improvements in the delivery of care and service making the best use of emerging technologies, and creating greater strategic flexibility in the use of capital," he said.

Prior to joining Kaiser, Crandall served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer for APL Limited. There he directed all financial functions, with an emphasis on strategic redirection. Before APL, Crandall enjoyed a 32 year career at Price Waterhouse where he was Southern California Group managing partner overseeing projects and clients worldwide.

Crandall graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College, with a BA degree in accounting. He earned his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley. He resides in Piedmont, Calif. with his family.

Kaiser Permanente is American's leading integrated health care organization. Founded in 1945, it is a non-profit, group-practice prepayment program with headquarters in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of eight million members in 11 states and the District of Columbia.

Today, it encompasses Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and the Permanente Medical Groups, as well as an affiliation with Group Health Cooperative based in Seattle. Nationwide they include more than 90,000 technical, administrative, and clerical employees and 10,000 physicians representing all specialties.