The Truth Behind Sanford Health's Threat to Leave Wellmark's Network

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While Wellmark fights to manage health care costs for South Dakota, Sanford Health's eyes are elsewhere

For months, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield has worked in good faith with Sanford Health to renew our long-standing contract. Earlier this week, Sanford Health announced publicly that it plans to leave Wellmark’s network beginning on July 1, 2027.

Wellmark is committed to making health care better and managing costs for our members. We also believe our members deserve straight answers. Sanford Health has raised concerns in public about our discussions, but those concerns pull attention away from the real issue. We believe it comes down to how much Sanford Health wants to be paid.

We have worked with Sanford Health for many decades. We came to these talks the same way we always have, looking to renew an agreement comparable to what others in the market are receiving and keep costs in check for our members. What we proposed should be no surprise. In fact, we have recently reached agreements with similar terms with other leading South Dakota health care providers.

Sanford Health, on the other hand, demands changes that would make it harder for Wellmark to manage costs for our members.

When corporate health systems like Sanford Health demand higher payments, the cost of health care rises and the out-of-pocket costs people pay go up too, but South Dakotans are already worried about the cost of health care.

Wellmark is holding the line to protect our members’ access to affordable care. Sanford Health has not shown the same commitment. Just last month, Sanford Health spent $600 million to buy North Memorial Health in Minnesota. It has also spent hundreds of millions in other states expanding beyond South Dakota, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Even within South Dakota, Sanford Health is buying other hospitals and leaving patients with fewer health care options.

Wellmark wants to keep Sanford Health in our network. We will keep working in good faith over the next eight months to reach a balanced agreement that helps keep premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs in check for South Dakotans.

What does this mean for members? Nothing changes today or for at least eight months. Sanford Health is still part of Wellmark's broad provider network. Members can continue to use their coverage to see their Sanford Health doctors before July 1, 2027. We are actively working on an agreement with Sanford Health, and we hope to reach terms so that our members’ coverage stays the same beyond that date. If we can't reach an agreement, Sanford Health providers would be out of network starting July 1, 2027. In that case, members would need to find a new in-network doctor or pay more to keep seeing their Sanford Health doctor.

Our members come first. South Dakotans deserve quality care from doctors they trust, at a price they can afford. That’s why we welcome continued conversation with Sanford Health before July 1, 2027, so our members can keep receiving the care they need from the providers they know.