Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Group Health voting members agreed Saturday to the $1.8 billion acquisition by Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente that was announced in December.
Of the about 27,000 members of Group Health who were eligible to vote, 8,824 voted in support and 1,586 voted against the deal. The ballots were mailed in and the tally was announced Saturday at a meeting at Seattle's Smith Cove Cruise Terminal.
A two-thirds majority was required for the deal to move forward and it now needs regulatory approval, which could take upward of six months.
The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner received the official proposal from Kaiser – one of nation's largest nonprofit health organizations – earlier this month and it will consider the effect on the overall stability of the health insurance market in Washington state, including competition and consumer choice.
The commissioner’s office will post all public documents and official orders related to the proposed sale during the review. Regional public meetings will be held later this year, followed by a formal public hearing once the review is complete.
Group Health will become Kaiser Permanente’s eighth region and will most likely be called Kaiser Permanente of Washington.
Should the acquisition go through, Kaiser would pay nearly $1.8 billion to establish a new nonprofit Group Health Community Foundation, which would be a separate entity from the Kaiser Permanente of Washington organization.
Kaiser has also committed $1 billion in capital investment in Washington over the next decade to go toward clinics, medical equipment and technology to increase access and service for members.
The timing caused some criticism, however, because Group Health officials announced the deal three days too late for most Group Health members to register to vote.
The largest labor union to work at Group Health, however, came out in support of the deal because, it said, it saw the acquisition for the opportunities it brings with it: capital for growth and more jobs.
Source : bizjournals.com
