On Wednesday, Samaritan Health announced they will be acquired by MultiCare Health, a regional nonprofit based in Tacoma, Washington.
MultiCare is much larger than Samaritan. A joint release says MultiCare has over 28,000 employees, providers and volunteers at more than 300 primary, urgent, pediatric and specialty care locations, as well as 13 hospitals.
Samaritan serves Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties. They operate five hospitals and 80 clinics. They have 5,000 employees, including 620 clinicians. They are currently governed by a volunteer board made up of community members, and the release says that for now they will remain locally governed.
Not a done deal, yet
So far, what’s happened is the boards of directors of both nonprofits, Samaritan and MultiCare, have approved the merger.
In the coming weeks, Samaritan and MultiCare say they will sign a formal affiliation agreement, paving the way for Samaritan to become part of MultiCare. The two organizations are now beginning to take the next steps needed to complete the deal. They are hoping to finalize the merger by the middle of 2026.
It is anticipated that Oregon’s state regulators will need to approve the deal. Exact terms have not been disclosed yet.
Context
Samaritan has been under the same pressure as many hospital systems nationwide. Costs outpacing inflation, public and private insurance reimbursements that aren’t keeping up.
Samaritan’s expenses outpaced revenue by $13.2 million in the first half of this year. In March, Samaritan said they filed a notice of an expected technical default.
According to Oregon healthcare watchdog, The Lund Report, “To address the default notice, Samaritan hired Warbird Consultants to take a look at its finances. In late April, the firm made a variety of recommendations to increase Samaritan’s income and cut its expenses.”
The consultant concluded, “Warbird believes that Samaritan does not need to affiliate with another party for long-term survival.”
More about MultiCare
MultiCare, started off in 1882 with a hospital in Tacoma. Lund says they’ve expanded through the decades into eastern Washington and what it calls the Capital Pacific region from Olympia to the coast.
Last October, it acquired the Overlake Medical Center and Clinics in Bellevue, Washington. Their financial report discloses that “no consideration was exchanged” in the transaction.
The Lund Report says, “MultiCare lost almost $39 million on an operating basis for the first six months of the year, but more than made up for it with gains from investments, with a bottom-line excess of revenues of almost $108 million. The results did not include Overlake’s financial performance.”
What they’re saying
In any event, the joint release says MultiCare will make significant investments into Samaritan over the next ten years.
“This affiliation represents an important step in securing the future of nonprofit health care in our region,” said Marty Cahill, president and chief executive officer of Samaritan. “Our commitment has always been to remain a community-based, mission-driven organization, and this partnership strengthens that promise for decades to come. Together, we will expand access, invest in the technology and services our communities need, and do so while keeping care nonprofit and locally governed. We are excited and honored to become MultiCare’s first health system in Oregon and to bring the benefits of MultiCare’s expertise home to the communities we serve.”
The joint release says, “The affiliation between Samaritan and MultiCare will also further strengthen health care across the region by enhancing quality, supporting affordability and advancing health equity. As part of the agreement, MultiCare has committed to invest resources over the next 10 years to modernize Samaritan’s facilities, grow primary and specialty care, and introduce new technologies and telehealth capabilities that improve access, patient experience and help lower the cost of care. This investment also includes plans to expand Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, adding inpatient capacity and ensuring the region’s growing population has continued access to local hospital care. The affiliation will also bring MultiCare’s leading behavioral health network — the largest in Washington — into Samaritan’s service area, increasing access across the mid-Willamette Valley and central coast.”
“MultiCare’s mission is partnering for healing and a healthy future, and that mission drives us to seek out like-minded organizations to ensure Pacific Northwest communities have long-term access to local care,” said MultiCare CEO Bill Robertson. “MultiCare and Samaritan are closely aligned in our mission, vision and values, making us ideal partners as we strengthen our networks across our service regions. It will be our privilege to be a part of the communities Samaritan serves and we look forward to working together to support and advance health care in Oregon.”
The release also said, “For now, nothing changes for patients, employees or health plan members. Samaritan will continue to operate as it does today, providing care through the same trusted clinicians and facilities, while both organizations complete the remaining steps in the affiliation process.”
Samaritan has put up a webpage about the merger at samhealth.org/Affiliation.
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