Group Health Cooperative to Join Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative announced today they have signed a definitive agreement for Kaiser Permanente to acquire Seattle-based Group Health. The combination will advance the growth of the integrated model for health care and coverage together and expand Kaiser Permanente’s reach, adding nearly 590,000 members.

“This agreement is a natural extension of our long, successful working relationship with Group Health and it provides us with the opportunity to expand access to high-quality, affordable care and coverage,” said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. “Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative are a natural fit. The opportunity to unite will allow us to best serve the current and future needs of our members, customers and employees. We look forward to welcoming the people of Group Health Cooperative into the Kaiser Permanente family.”

“As a decades-long member of Group Health, and chair of the Board of Trustees, I have a great deal of pride in this organization. Since our founding, Group Health has relentlessly pursued, and boldly taken, the steps required to ensure that our members get the care and experience they want and deserve. Today we are a highly sought after, financially strong and nationally recognized health care organization,” said Susan Byington, chair of Group Health Cooperative’s Board of Trustees. “I believe this opportunity to join with Kaiser Permanente creates even greater assurance that the committed teams and care delivery system that has kept me and my family healthy will be serving families for decades to come.”