Sanford Health Plan Enters N.D. Health Insurance Market

Copyright 2010 A.M. Best Company, Inc.All Rights Reserved BestWire

February 8, 2010 Monday 04:44 PM EST

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Sanford Health Plan Enters N.D. Health Insurance Market

Fran Lysiak

BISMARCK, N.D.

The nonprofit Sanford Health Plan has received approval from North Dakota insurance regulators to sell health insurance in the state.

Sanford Health received its certificate of authority from the North Dakota Department of Insurance, but the company still needs approval of offered insurance plans and rates. The company will be selling individual and group health policies, the department said.

A spokeswoman for the insurance department declined to comment beyond the insurance commissioner's statement.

Attempts to speak with Sanford Health were unsuccessful. The company was formed in 1998 as a physician directed, nonprofit health plan, according to its Web site.

"Competition is critical to ensuring the highest quality of products at affordable prices," North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm said in a statement.

The not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is the state's dominant health insurer. The company serves about 53% of the North Dakota population, providing coverage and related benefits to more than 449,000 people (BestWire, Oct. 7, 2009).

According to an early 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office that ranked the market share of insurers in each state, 17 states had a single insurer that served at least half of the market. Four of those states had insurers that controlled more than 75%. In Alabama and North Dakota, more than nine in 10 people with health insurance get it from a single company (BestWire, Aug. 31, 2009).

In August 2009, Hamm said there was little competition in the state's health insurance market. Of the 10 or fewer companies operating there, he only half offer individual coverage (BestWire, Aug. 31, 2009).

According to the North Dakota insurance department, companies currently selling health plans to individuals in the state are American Republic Insurance Co., Blue Cross Blue Shield, Heart of America Health Plan, John Alden Life Insurance Co., Medica Insurance Co., Time Insurance Co. and World Insurance Co.

Companies selling to small employers with two to 50 employees are Blue Cross Blue Shield, Heart of America, John Alden Life, Madison National Life Insurance Co., Medica Health Plans HMO/Medica Insurance and Time Insurance.

(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])

February 9, 2010

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