Samaritan Looks At Affiliation With MultiCare Health System

During a series of town hall's Samaritan Health Services leaders laid out their case for affiliating with Washington-based MultiCare Health System during a public town hall in Newport, describing the proposed deal as essential to long‑term financial stability, expanded local services, and maintaining rural access to care on the central Oregon coast.

President & Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Health Services Marty Cahill was in Lincoln County providing information about the potentioal affiliation during Town Hall events. The meeting, part of a series of community forums, focused on why Samaritan pursued a partner, what MultiCare brings, how the regulatory review is unfolding, and what the affiliation could mean for patients, staff, and coastal facilities.

Financial losses triggered search for partner

Samaritan ended 2024 with a $67 million net loss, a result leaders linked largely to high claims costs in its health plans and rising expenses outpacing flat or declining revenues in its hospitals and clinics. Roughly two‑thirds of the 2024 loss came from its health plans, including its Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) and Medicare Advantage products, where patient utilization outstripped the premium dollars paid to cover care. On the delivery side, Samaritan faced higher wages and supply costs in the wake of the pandemic while revenue did not keep pace.

Cahill said the organization made a roughly $50 million turnaround in 2025 and is running about $5 million ahead of budget through April 2026, but the 2024 loss prompted the board and executive team to explore a long‑term partner rather than risk multiple bad years that could threaten the system’s viability. Samaritan hired national firm Juniper to quietly test the market. Thirty‑eight organizations expressed interest, 17 signed nondisclosure agreements, seven submitted detailed proposals, and four were taken through deeper due diligence. From that group, Samaritan recommended MultiCare.

Why MultiCare was chosen

Officials described MultiCare as a nonprofit, secular system headquartered in Tacoma with 13 hospitals, about 27,000 employees, and roughly 2,400 employed clinicians across Washington. They emphasized several reasons they believe it is a good fit:

• Mission and values: Samaritan and MultiCare are both community‑based nonprofits. Leaders said their missions and core values closely align, including commitments to quality, access, and local governance. MultiCare’s board operates around pillars of excellence, local governance, trust, and patient‑ and community‑centered decision‑making.

• Northwest footprint: MultiCare was founded in Tacoma in 1882 and has grown steadily across the Pacific Northwest. Samaritan leaders said MultiCare’s regional focus and experience in both urban and rural settings make it more likely to understand coastal and mid‑valley communities.

• Behavioral health and Medicaid: MultiCare is a major provider of behavioral health services and Medicaid care in Washington, including more than 400,000 Medicaid patients and two behavioral health hospitals. Samaritan leaders portrayed this as a chance to strengthen mental health and safety‑net services in their three‑county region.

• Scale and recruitment: Combined, Samaritan and MultiCare would represent a clinician workforce of about 3,000. Samaritan leaders argued this scale, plus access to MultiCare’s specialty institutes (cardiac, behavioral health, neuroscience, children’s services), will help recruit hard‑to‑find specialists such as neurologists and bolster primary care recruitment in rural areas. They also noted areas where Samaritan brings assets MultiCare lacks, including operating three critical access hospitals and running a larger residency training program than MultiCare currently has.

Regulatory review and timeline

The affiliation is undergoing review by the Oregon Health Authority’s Health Care Market Oversight (HCMO) program, along with separate approvals involving a CCO, a commercial insurer, and federal antitrust authorities. Federal regulators have already cleared the deal on antitrust grounds, in part because the nearest MultiCare hospitals are about four hours away. Samaritan leaders said OHA staff recently sent another round of 14 questions, which they characterized as detailed but expected at this stage of review. Based on what they know now, they said they are cautiously aiming for OHA and related approvals by late summer or early fall, acknowledging that the process is bureaucratic and timelines may shift.

What the deal would do locally

Under the proposed structure, Samaritan’s local legal entities would remain, but MultiCare would become the sole corporate member of the nonprofit system. Leaders repeatedly said they expect no immediate disruption to patients’ care or employees’ day‑to‑day work.

Key points described for coastal and regional communities included:

• Branding: Samaritan would keep its name, with MultiCare gradually added as a supporting brand. Changes would start with the website and a few key buildings, with a phased rollout over time to avoid unnecessary expense.

• Insurance: Existing contracts would remain in force through at least 2026. UnitedHealthcare and Medicare Advantage, which Samaritan no longer contracts with, were described as “on the table” for future reconsideration, but only if agreements can be reached that are financially sustainable and do not risk the system’s stability.

• Investment: MultiCare has committed to invest $700 million over 10 years in Samaritan’s service area, with $300 million in the first five years and $400 million in the following five. Leaders said the total value of the transaction, when including assumption of debt and bonds, is close to $900 million.

On the central coast, leaders cited needs for a medical office building near Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, additional pharmacy and rehabilitation services in the Newport area, and growth in local primary care and specialist coverage. Telehealth expansion, using MultiCare’s existing platforms, was identified as a major opportunity to connect coastal patients with more specialty care without travel.

Cahill told the audience they intend to keep communicating openly as the process moves forward. They highlighted an affiliation information page and a live FAQ on the Samaritan website, where community members can submit questions. New questions raised at town halls, such as a breakdown of MultiCare’s mix of physicians and advanced practice providers, are to be added with answers over time.