Cambia Health Solutions
| File:Cambia Health Solutions logo.svg | |
| Company type | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health care |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Mark Ganz |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, United States |
Key people | Jared Short, CEO and president |
Number of employees | 4,439 (2022) |
| Website | cambiahealth.com |
Cambia Health Solutions is a nonprofit organization in the health care sector based in Portland, Oregon. It serves as the parent entity of Regence, a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association affiliate operating across Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Washington. Additionally, Cambia oversees subsidiaries including Asuris Northwest Health, BridgeSpan Health, and LifeMap. The company holds majority or minority ownership stakes in more than 20 companies throughout the United States.
History
The roots of Cambia trace back to 1917 in the Pacific Northwest with the establishment of Pierce County Medical Bureau, created by timber workers pooling resources to cover injury and illness. The organization’s present form resulted from mergers during the 1990s that formed Regence, a coalition of nonprofit health plans aimed at maintaining competitiveness against growing national for-profit entities.
From 1995 through 2003, Regence broadened its reach by merging with Blue Cross Blue Shield entities in Oregon, Utah, and Idaho, alongside several medical bureaus in Washington. Richard Woolworth held the CEO position until 2003, after which founder Mark Ganz took over leadership until his retirement in 2020.
By 2017, Cambia had grown to employ around 5,000 staff members across six health plans spanning four states, serving upwards of 2.6 million members. In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the company emphasized employee volunteerism and philanthropic activities.
In 2018, Cambia appointed Faraz Shafiq as its inaugural Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer to enhance its data science initiatives.
A planned strategic partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina was announced in March 2019 but was later discontinued due to management difficulties and changes in executive leadership at both organizations.
Cambia Grove
Established in 2015, Cambia Grove functions as an innovation hub within Cambia Health Solutions’ strategic framework. It supports emerging health care companies by maintaining an extensive startup directory that includes 468 health-related startups in Washington State. Among these are 305 life sciences firms along with numerous companies specializing in digital health, health IT, and health care services. This platform strengthens Cambia’s role in fostering industry innovation and expanding its influence.
Philanthropy
The Cambia Health Foundation was founded in 2007 as the company’s charitable arm under section 501(c)(3), concentrating on palliative care, transformation within health care systems, and behavioral health for children. Since 2009, it has allocated over $30 million toward improving awareness, accessibility, and quality of palliative care services. In line with this mission, Cambia’s regional health plans rolled out comprehensive palliative care benefits in 2014.
Significant contributions include support for Sojourns, a program dedicated to advancing hospital-based palliative care across the Pacific Northwest. The foundation also created the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program to develop leaders in palliative care by providing two-year grants totaling $180,000 for clinical practice, research, education, or policy development projects. Scholars benefit from mentorship provided by advisory board members. By mid-2017, four cohorts comprising 40 leaders had received $7.2 million in funding, underscoring Cambia’s dedication to strategic leadership development and its recognized role in health care philanthropy.
Investments
Cambia Health Solutions directs its investments toward health care technology and service enterprises outside of traditional insurance, including companies like GNS Healthcare, Qliance, and True Link, primarily through its investment division, Echo Health Ventures. In 2016, Cambia combined forces with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Mosaic Health Solutions to consolidate their investment activities under Echo Health Ventures, which concentrates on consumer-focused health care businesses. Among Cambia’s holdings are digital health companies such as TytoCare, MDsave, Maxwell Health, Wildflower Health, PokitDok, and ClearCare.
Additionally, Cambia has initiated ventures including HealthSparq, OmedaRx, LifeMap, SpendWell, Hubbub Health, and Wellero—a mobile health payment application that operated from 2013 until it ceased operations in 2016. In the same year, HealthSparq merged with SpendWell Health, continuing under the HealthSparq name to offer a health care e-commerce platform that allows users to compare medical service options and schedule appointments.
These targeted investments and entrepreneurial efforts embody Cambia’s strategic approach to fostering innovation within health care technology and broadening its market presence through selective acquisitions and collaborations.
Executive compensation
In 2008, Mark Ganz, serving as Regence’s president across Washington and Oregon, received total compensation amounting to $1,770,336, which included a bonus of $550,548. Other senior executives earning six-figure salaries included Mohandas Nair, EVP and chief marketing officer, with $651,821; Steve Hooker, Treasurer who was retiring at the time, earning $642,184; William Barr, EVP of operations with $808,045; and Kerry Barnett, EVP of the corporate division receiving $615,472. These remuneration figures illustrate the structure of executive pay within Regence’s corporate governance framework.
Regulation, investigations and lawsuits
A 2012 report by the Seattle Times revealed that Regence BlueShield along with other nonprofit insurers were amassing significant financial reserves while simultaneously increasing premiums. A class-action lawsuit filed in 2014 contesting Regence’s nonprofit designation was dismissed with prejudice. In 2016, Washington State imposed a $750,000 fine on Cambia due to complaints from policyholders related to Asuris Northwest Health and Regence BlueShield. More recently, in January 2021, Cambia was penalized $10,000 for failing to inform regulatory authorities about the felony arrest of Dr. Patrick H. Conway—who was slated to become CEO in a merger involving Cambia and Blue Cross Blue Shield NC. These regulatory measures underscore ongoing compliance issues within Regence’s organizational governance.