In the early 1990s, health care leaders began to realize that it could better meet the health care needs of its residents by offering managed care to its diverse communities, including immigrant and refugee populations. Our Community Health Centers (CHCs) were ideally positioned to offer managed care services to these groups thanks to their natural ability to remove the financial, cultural, linguistic, geographic and other barriers to health care.
In fall 1992, Washington’s CHCs voted to form Community Health Network of Washington and a subsidiary nonprofit managed care company, Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW). As a network, we brought together shared values for equal access to care, years of experience in community organizing, and track records for effective care delivery and administration.
CHNW and CHPW have been making a positive impact in the lives of Washingtonians. Our mission of serving the community and providing better care for patients extends to our advocacy work in the health policy sphere. By leveraging our shared resources and expertise, we have been able to undertake strategic public policy and advocacy efforts in both Olympia, WA, and Washington, D.C., to ensure access to health care for every Washington state resident.
