Updated May 20, 2026
Premera Blue Cross and MultiCare are in active negotiations over a new contract. Our priority is simple: keep MultiCare in-network while protecting employers and families from significant cost increases. There has been a lot said publicly about these negotiations. Here’s what matters most for the people we serve.
We are engaged and working toward an agreement
We have been actively engaged throughout this process and remain at the table working toward a fair agreement.
- We submitted our most recent proposal to MultiCare on May 15
- We have continued to communicate throughout negotiations
- We remain focused on reaching an agreement before the June 1 deadline
This negotiation began when MultiCare issued a termination notice in late 2025, setting a timeline toward a potential disruption. That decision was not a routine procedural step. It creates urgency and uncertainty for employers and patients, and it is an approach MultiCare has used in past negotiations as well. Our focus is on transparency, facts, and affordability as we work toward a resolution.
This negotiation is about cost and affordability
The central issue is not whether an agreement will happen, but whether the terms are affordable. Washington businesses have been clear: healthcare costs need to come down.
MultiCare is seeking increases that would raise the cost of care for employers and families. Those costs do not stay within the healthcare system. They show up in:
- Higher premiums
- Higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs
- Increased costs for Washington employers
- Stifling job growth, delaying or eliminating wage increases, reductions in workforce
If we agreed to the current proposal, the impact would be significant. For example:
- A knee replacement could cost approximately $17,000 more
- Childbirth could cost approximately $6,000 more
For context, the annual median wage for a single household in Washington is about $50,576. These are real costs that affect family budgets and business decisions.
We shouldn’t be putting communities in a position where they have to choose between healthcare and basic needs.
Current payments are already at the higher end of the market
Our approach to affordability includes assessing hospital reimbursement using national benchmark comparisons, such as percent of Medicare, along with comparisons to other hospitals in the market.
Those benchmark comparisons show that MultiCare’s pricing is already at the higher end of the market in several key regions and service lines. For example:
- Benchmark analyses show hospital pricing levels exceeding 250 percent of Medicare overall
- For outpatient services, benchmark comparisons exceed 290 percent of Medicare, on average
- Premera paid more than $650 million for care delivered by MultiCare in 2024 and we paid MultiCare roughly $762 million in 2025.
These benchmarks are widely used to evaluate relative pricing across the healthcare system and provide important context for the current negotiations. The question is not simply how rates compare to inflation, but whether additional increases are reasonable given where pricing already stands and the impact on employers and families.
Our proposal focuses on where costs are growing fastest
Our approach is targeted.
We are maintaining current levels for inpatient hospital care while addressing areas where prices are already high and growing the fastest, including outpatient and certain professional services. This is not about across-the-board reductions. It is about preventing already elevated costs from increasing further and spreading across the system.
Value-based care remains important
We support value-based care because it is designed to improve quality and lower costs over time. We have not said we are eliminating value-based care programs. Our focus is on ensuring these programs deliver meaningful results. Today, these programs represent a small portion of total reimbursement and have produced mixed outcomes. Going forward, we will continue to support models that improve quality and reduce total cost of care, with a stronger emphasis on measurable performance.
How healthcare costs show up for members and employers
There has been confusion about premiums and how they relate to provider reimbursement. Premium changes cited publicly apply specifically to the individual insurance market, which serves a relatively small portion of members and is regulated and approved by the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Most members are covered through employer-sponsored plans, where costs are driven directly by the price of care.
The key point is this: higher hospital prices lead to higher costs for employers and families across all types of coverage.
Who we are
Premera Blue Cross is a not-for-profit health plan that has served Washington communities for more than 90 years. About 90 cents of every premium dollar goes directly to healthcare services, including hospital care, physician visits, prescriptions, and more. Our responsibility is to balance access to care with long-term affordability for the people and employers we serve.
The broader context
Healthcare costs are rising across the country, and hospital pricing is a major driver of that growth. At the same time, hospital markets have become increasingly consolidated, which gives large health systems more leverage in contract negotiations.
When prices rise, the impact is felt directly by employers and families.
Our commitment moving forward
We remain committed to reaching an agreement with MultiCare that maintains access to care. At the same time, we have a responsibility to push back on pricing that would make healthcare less affordable for Washington families and employers. We will continue working toward a solution that does both.
