AN ACT to create and enact chapter 26.1-08.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the comprehensive health association of North Dakota; to repeal chapters 26.1-08 and 26.1-08.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the comprehensive health association of North Dakota; to provide an effective date; and to declare an emergency.
SB 2032 restructures the statutory framework for the Comprehensive Health Association of North Dakota, the state’s high-risk health coverage mechanism. The bill creates a new chapter governing the association’s wind-down and directs it to stop enrolling new members effective May 1, 2025, while allowing existing benefit plans to continue only long enough to transition members and satisfy outstanding obligations. It also authorizes the association to terminate all existing benefit plans by December 31, 2025, with at least 90 days’ notice to current policyholders.
The bill sets out transition rules for individuals losing creditable coverage, requiring that they be offered enrollment into a comparable health benefit plan or certain Medicare supplement plans under guaranteed issue. It also preserves administrative flexibility for the board during the shutdown, including continued use of a lead carrier, assessment of members based on actual program costs, and return of any excess funds after cessation. A statute of limitations provision limits claims against the association or board to one year after the cause of action or December 31, 2027, whichever comes first. The bill repeals the existing chapters governing the association, with that repeal taking effect December 31, 2027, and declares the act an emergency.
The bill’s impact is to phase out the state’s comprehensive health association structure and replace it with a controlled termination process rather than an ongoing program. It affects the North Dakota Century Code provisions governing the association, its board, insurer assessments, and coverage administration, while also creating temporary rules for claims, notices, and member transitions. Insurers, the association board, current enrollees, and individuals who lose creditable coverage are the primary parties affected.
The general sentiment reflected in the legislative record is strongly supportive and noncontroversial. The bill passed the Senate 44-0 and the House 91-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. No committee transcript was provided, but the voting history suggests broad agreement that the wind-down and transition provisions were necessary and acceptable.
The main point of contention, based on the text itself rather than recorded debate, would be the policy choice to end the association and how quickly to do so while protecting existing policyholders. Potential concerns include whether the transition period is sufficient, how comparable replacement coverage will be secured for affected individuals, and whether the shortened limitations period could restrict claims. However, the unanimous votes suggest these issues did not produce significant opposition in the Legislature.
SB 2032 repeals and replaces the statutory provisions governing the Comprehensive Health Association of North Dakota, effectively ending the association’s ongoing enrollment and setting a legal framework for its orderly dissolution. It changes state law by establishing deadlines for stopping enrollment, terminating benefit plans, handling excess funds, and limiting lawsuits, while also creating temporary transition protections for people losing creditable coverage and for existing policyholders. The bill primarily affects the association, its board, participating insurers, current enrollees, and individuals seeking Medicare supplement or comparable health coverage.
The bill appears to have enjoyed unanimous, bipartisan support in both chambers, with no recorded opposition in the vote totals. That level of support suggests legislators viewed the measure as a practical administrative and transition bill rather than a controversial policy shift. The absence of committee transcripts limits insight into detailed debate, but the voting record indicates broad consensus around the need to wind down the association in an orderly way.
The most likely areas of concern are the termination of the association itself, the adequacy of notice and replacement coverage for affected members, and the shortened deadline for bringing claims against the association or board. Those issues would matter most to current policyholders, insurers, and any parties with pending or potential claims. Even so, the unanimous floor votes indicate that any such concerns were either resolved in drafting or were not significant enough to generate recorded opposition.