Premera and Kinwell Increase Access to Primary Care

Premera Blue Cross, one of the largest not-for-profit health plans in the Pacific Northwest, and Kinwell Medical Group are marking Kinwell’s third anniversary by announcing a 67 percent increase in total patient visits in the last year, surpassing 79,000 appointments.

In 2024, Kinwell hired 28 new clinicians across the state, including behavioral health specialists, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Kinwell’s model prioritizes stronger patient-provider relationships by offering longer appointment times and compensating clinicians for the quality of care delivered instead of the number of patients treated. Through a team-based approach, clinicians bring whole-person care to the forefront with:

• Integrated behavioral health care: Kinwell’s primary care providers can diagnose and treat behavioral health concerns. They are supported by Kinwell’s behavioral health specialists who can see patients for appointments, too. Kinwell also offers online group classes to help people learn coping skills for challenging emotions and situations.
• Lifestyle medicine: Clinicians incorporate aspects of lifestyle medicine principles, such as nutrition, quality of sleep, and daily activity, to fully support a patient’s mental, physical, and emotional health. Kinwell also offers virtual nutrition-focused group classes as part of its lifestyle medicine program.
• Health coaching: Patients enrolled in Kinwell’s lifestyle medicine group classes can schedule one-on-one health coaching appointments at no additional cost. A health coach helps patients set goals and develop plans to reach them.
• Virtual care: Patients can make a virtual appointment with the clinician they see in person or establish care with Kinwell’s dedicated online clinicians from anywhere in Washington.

This whole-person approach to care is well received by Kinwell patients. Kinwell has a Net Promoter Score^® of 85, more than double the industry average.

“When our members told us how hard it was to find a primary care provider, we knew we couldn’t wait on the sidelines for this problem to solve itself,” said Lee McGrath, executive vice president of health care services for Premera. “We worked together with Kinwell to create solutions across the state – all throughout Puget Sound and reaching from Spokane and Pasco to Bellingham, Poulsbo and Olympia. Kinwell designed a model that thoughtfully centers their patients and removes barriers for our members seeking high-quality care, which can make a real difference in their overall health.”

You can read more about how Kinwell has grown in the press release.