SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sanford Health has issued Wellmark a notice of contract termination, effective July 1, 2027. According to a story on the health organization’s website, Sanford Health believes patients deserve healthcare agreements that ensure stability, certainty and protect access to care within their communities, and Wellmark has been unwilling to compromise on its demands for exclusive control of decisions affecting patient care.

Patients rely on stable access to their doctors, hospitals and healthcare services. Wellmark insists on having sole authority to change key contract terms after an agreement is signed, Sanford posted, including terms that affect how patients receive care and how that care is paid for. Patients are best served when decisions affecting their care, access and affordability are made collaboratively by healthcare providers and insurers. Those decisions should not be controlled solely by an insurance company.

“Our patients come first. Decisions affecting access to care and the future of local healthcare services must be mutually negotiated, not dictated by Wellmark,” said Nick Olson, executive vice president, chief financial officer at Sanford Health. “We cannot accept a contract that gives an insurance company the power to change the terms on its own, with consequences for the care our patients and communities depend on.”

Wellmark is seeking a long-term agreement to lock in their ability to make exclusive changes after the contract is signed and control terms that impact patient care. Sanford supports multi-year agreements when they provide clear expectations, certainty and stability for patients, providers and communities.

Rural communities depend on local hospitals, clinics, physicians, emergency care and specialty services close to home. Maintaining those services requires the flexibility to collaborate with independent physician groups, long-term planning and investments in the workforce, facilities and programs that patients rely on every day.

Today, Sanford Health remains in network with Wellmark, and there are no changes to patients’ coverage or benefits. Appointments, procedures and treatments will continue as scheduled. The notice of contract termination is effective July 1, 2027, which gives Sanford Health and Wellmark eight months to reach terms that protect patients.

South Dakota patients can learn more about the facts by visiting sanfordhealth.org/lp/insurance-updates.