Group Health Cooperative,, later more commonly known as Group Health, was a Seattle, Washington based nonprofit healthcare organization.
Business model
Established in, Group Health provided coverage and care for about 600,000 people in Washington and Idaho and was one of the largest private employers in Washington. Patients who received care at its medical centers were provided Web access to their medical records, secure emailing with doctors and nurses, and the ability to fill prescriptions online that are mailed to homes without a shipping charge.
Corporate structure
Despite being marketed as a cooperative for much of the organization's history, Group Health never legally presented itself as a cooperative. It was a nonprofit organization with members. Members were always able to amend bylaws and elect a board of trustees, but never owned organization assets or directly controlled operations. Group Health Community Foundation was funded with the acquisition with approximately $1.8 billion in assets. Founded in 1983, the new GHCF is entirely independent of Kaiser Permanente. GHCF will continue to invest in efforts to improve health and health care through immunizations, innovation, and patient care.
History
Group Health was officially registered as a corporation in Washington on December 22, 1945. Group Health's founders included Thomas G. Bevan, then president of lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at Boeing; Ella Willams, a leader in a local chapter of The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry; Addison Shoudy, R.M Mitchell, and Stanley Erickson, who were pioneers in the American cooperative movement; and other community members who had no strong past affiliation with any particular social group. Originally named Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, the "of Puget Sound" was dropped in 1995. The Seattle Times noted in 2012 that non-profit insurance companies, including Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield, and Group Health, were stockpiling billions of dollars in reserves while increasing their rates at the same time. On December 4, 2015, it was announced that Group Health would be acquired by Kaiser Permanente. In January 2017 Washington State regulators endorsed the acquisition of Group Health by Kaiser Permanente. The acquisition resulted in a newly formed not-for-profit 501 under the name Group Health Community Foundation.
Group Health's research leg was the Group Health Research Institute, formerly known as Group Health Center for Health Studies. Now known as Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, it works with institutions such as the University of Washington and the National Institutes of Health. It is a member of the Health Care Systems Research Network, formerly known as the HMO Research Network.
