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Kaiser Permanente has agreed to acquire a major health insurer in Washington state, signaling a more aggressive expansion strategy for the big California-based managed-care operator at a time when its integrated model is increasingly fashionable. The nonprofit’s acquisition of Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, which like Kaiser includes both an insurance arm and health-care providers, would bring about 590,000 new members and a far broader geographic footprint in the state of Washington. (Wilde Mathews, 12/4)

Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente has agreed to acquire a big insurer in Washington state and signaled the pursuit of similar deals across the country. The nonprofit HMO and health system said Friday that it was buying Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, which insures nearly 600,000 people. Because the deal involves two nonprofit organizations, Kaiser said it would contribute $1.8 billion to a new foundation in Washington to complete the transaction. (Terhune, 12/4)