HistoryLink.org

On November 7, 1993, Group Health Cooperative and Virginia Mason Medical Center announce a "strategic alliance" between their two organizations. The move follows the passage of Washington's Health Services Act, passed in April 1993, which increases pressure on Group Health to lower costs. Group Health and Virginia Mason managers extol the advantages of the new alliance, while many employees question whether the alliance with Virginia Mason, which the

Seattle Weekly

calls "staunchly non-union," will lead to massive layoffs and decertification of existing labor representation. An organization of Group Health members called Concerned Consumers forms to oppose the alliance and "to keep Group Health true to its soul" (Crowley, 233).

Sources: Walt Crowley, To Serve the Greatest Number: A History of Group Health Cooperative of Seattle (Seattle: GHC/University of Washington Press, 1995), 223; Austin Ross, Vision and Vigilance: the First 75 Years of Virginia Mason Medial Center (Seattle: VMMC, 1995).

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You