Samaritan Health Services, MultiCare Merger Approved by Oregon Regulator

The OHA’s Health Care Market Oversight (HCMO) program reviewed the transaction’s potential impact on Samaritan facilities and Oregon residents’ access to affordable and equitable healthcare.

Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has approved the proposed merger of nonprofit MultiCare Health System and Samaritan Health Services, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the creation of an 18-hospital system with more than $7.5 billion in revenue.

The OHA’s Health Care Market Oversight (HCMO) program reviewed the transaction’s potential impact on Samaritan facilities and Oregon residents’ access to affordable and equitable healthcare. The approval includes conditions requiring MultiCare to fulfill a $700 million financial commitment to Samaritan and publish the commitment on Samaritan’s website.

The conditions also require Samaritan to reinvest operating margins into local communities and maintain existing healthcare services.

The transaction still requires review by other Oregon state programs before it can close. The OHA’s Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) Form A review is assessing the potential impact on InterCommunity Health Network’s financial stability and its ability to serve Medicaid recipients. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services is separately reviewing the financial and broader effects of transferring control of Samaritan’s commercial health plans.

The two organizations said they are working toward an Oct. 1 closing. Until the transaction is completed, MultiCare and Samaritan will continue operating as independent organizations.

The proposed affiliation was announced in October 2025 after approval by both organizations’ boards. The deal would bring Samaritan’s five community hospitals, more than 80 physician clinics, and health plans serving about 110,000 people under Tacoma, Washington-based MultiCare.

Following the transaction, Samaritan is expected to remain locally governed and community-based while gaining access to MultiCare resources. The affiliation includes a 10-year investment commitment covering facility modernization, expanded inpatient capacity at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, telehealth and other technology upgrades, and expansion of primary and specialty care.

MultiCare also plans to expand its behavioral health services into Samaritan’s service area in Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley and central coast.

MultiCare operates 13 hospitals and more than 300 care locations across Washington, Idaho, and Oregon and employs more than 28,000 people. Samaritan operates five hospitals in Oregon’s Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties.

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