Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System is launching a health insurance plan.
MultiCare Health Plan, announced Oct. 1, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the 13-hospital nonprofit system. Its first product is a Medicare Advantage HMO with prescription drug benefits, which will be available for the 2027 plan year in three counties in Washington state.
The plan will be supported by Olympia, Wash.-based Physicians of Southwest Washington, an independent physician association that MultiCare described as a long-time population health partner.
Karen Decaran-Voigt, who serves as vice president of provider network at PSW, will serve as the health plan’s president. She has more than 20 years of payer and provider leadership experience, with prior roles at Molina Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group, CommonSpirit Health and Elevance Health.
The launch comes amid MultiCare’s planned affiliation with Corvallis, Ore.-based Samaritan Health Services, which received regulatory approval in August.
Samaritan also operates a health plan, which exited the MA market in 2026. Samaritan Health Plans continues to offer a Medicaid product, D-SNP, and large group commercial plans, which will not change through 2027.
MultiCare’s bet on launching a new plan runs against a broader wave of health system-owned plan closures in recent years as medical costs and regulatory pressures have risen, including Providence, Michigan Medicine, and UMass Memorial.
