Group Health members OK acquisition by Kaiser Permanente

SEATTLE – The voting members of Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative have agreed to an acquisition by California health-care giant Kaiser Permanente.

The proposal needed the approval of two-thirds of Group Health’s members, and it received that when results of the mail-in ballot were announced Saturday, with 8,824 voting in favor to 1,585 opposed. Group Health said regulatory reviews were pending and were expected to take some time to complete.

Group Health’s unions and doctors support the acquisition, which the 70-year-old cooperative said would ensure quality, affordable care for its patients.

Kaiser Permanente has said it would invest $1 billion in Group Health’s clinics, medical equipment and technology over the next decade, as well as $800 million in community initiatives and programs such as Medicaid and sponsored care.