About Us: History

Our History

PacificSource was founded in 1933 by a group of 21 physicians who staffed and operated Pacific Christian Hospital in Eugene, Oregon. Within a year the company covered 600 employees, and in 1935 hired the first full time manager. That same year Pacific Christian Hospital was sold, making Pacific Hospital Association, the chosen name of the organization, a separate entity.

Slow, steady growth and solid resources made Pacific Hospital Association (PHA) an attractive company in the 1940s, and twice during the first half of the decade the firm rejected offers to merge. By 1945 PHA insured 4,500 working men and women at $2 per month.

As the country entered the post-war boom of the 1950s, PHA continued its steady growth. The company celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1953 with 10,500 members, 123 business contracts, and 67 physicians. In 1964 the physicians at the Eugene Hospital and Clinic joined PHA as member doctors. Soon after, two major client groups decided to self-insure their employees, and PHA expanded its menu of services by providing administrative services for those clients.

By 1975, PHA had become a major health insurer for Lane County, Oregon residents. In the early 1980s, the health insurance industry experienced increased utilization, and many carriers raised premiums dramatically in response to large claims losses. Thanks to its selective marketing and conservative underwriting practices, PHA avoided large losses and emerged stronger than ever. In 1985 and 1986 PHA expanded its Oregon marketing area to include Douglas, Linn, Coos, and Benton Counties, and in 1987 construction was completed on a company-owned office building in Eugene.

The company grew dramatically in the 1990s as a result of aggressive provider contracting and marketing efforts. In 1992 PHA opened a regional office in Portland, Oregon, and in 1994 the company launched its own line of group dental plans. The organization adopted the name PacificSource Health Plans in October 1994 to better reflect its mission as a health insurer. By the late 1990s, PacificSource had become a statewide plan, providing businesses and individuals in all corners of Oregon with flexible health and dental insurance.

To better serve its customers and accommodate enrollment increases, PacificSource opened regional offices in Bend in 2000 and in Medford in 2004. The company occupied a newly constructed company-owned headquarters in Springfield, Oregon, in September 2003. That same year, PacificSource enhanced its position as a market leader and source for innovative benefit solutions by acquiring two third-party administrators: Manley Services, an administrator of flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, and COBRA benefits; and Select Benefit Administrators, an administrator of self-funded employee benefit plans.

In 2007, PacificSource achieved a key goal of its expansion strategy by entering the Idaho market. With a regional office in downtown Boise, Idaho, PacificSource is now positioned to pursue its vision of becoming the leading independent health plan in the Pacific Northwest.

We're Celebrating 75 Years!

As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we’re taking the opportunity to look back at healthcare in the early 1930s, when the health insurance industry—and our organization—began. Read more.