MultiCare Health System Launches New Medicare Advantage Plan
MultiCare Health System, a 13-hospital nonprofit system based in Tacoma, Wash., announced on Oct. 1 the launch of MultiCare Health Plan, a wholly owned subsidiary. Its first product will be a Medicare Advantage HMO with drug benefits, available for the 2027 plan year in three Washington counties, supported by independent physician association Physicians of Southwest Washington. Karen Decaran-Voigt, a longtime payer and provider executive with prior roles at Molina, UnitedHealth, CommonSpirit and Elevance, will lead the new plan. The move comes as MultiCare pursues an affiliation with Samaritan Health Services, whose own health plan continues to offer Medicaid and D-SNP products, and runs counter to a broader trend of health systems shutting down their own insurance plans amid rising costs.
The launch signals a health system betting on payer-provider integration even as the affiliated Samaritan Health Plans' continued Medicaid and D-SNP offerings make MultiCare's broader insurance strategy relevant to state Medicaid managed care oversight in the Pacific Northwest.
Managed Care
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