Group Health Cooperative

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Group Health Cooperative, based in Seattle, Washington, is a consumer-governed nonprofit healthcare system. Established in 1947, it today provides coverage and care for about 540,000 people in Washington and Idaho and is one of the largest private employers in Washington. Despite their traditional local focus, agreements with Beech Street and First Choice Health Network give their members access to healthcare nationwide, and help make GHC competitive for national employer accounts, such as Nordstrom, Microsoft, and Federated Department Stores.

Its research arm, the Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies, works with institutions such as the University of Washington and the National Institutes of Health. For example, in January 2006, the Center released the results of a study that concluded that regular exercise is associated with a delay in the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Group Health has also been a national leader in clinical information systems and electronic patient records.