Op-Ed: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Transform Rural Health in North Dakota
By Dan Conrad, President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
North Dakota is a state that prides itself on caring for our own. We look out for our neighbors; step up in times of need and find solutions when the odds are against us. Today, we face another defining moment: the chance to reimagine how health care is delivered in rural North Dakota through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Rural health care is facing unprecedented challenges: workforce shortages, aging infrastructure and rising costs. Yet, with the potential for the state to receive at least $100 million per year — totaling $500 million over five years — this is an opportunity we can’t miss to change the game for rural North Dakotans.
Already, state leaders are gathering ideas for these funds from community organizations, health care providers, businesses and individuals across the state. And this is not a task for one organization alone.
This will take a collective effort of creativity and collaboration among payers, providers, policymakers, employers and community leaders coming together with urgency and vision. We must align around shared goals, listen to the front lines and act boldly around ideas that truly transform a system that must work better for people in our rural communities.
Like many other organizations supporting our rural communities, we have a role to play in this effort as we serve more than 380,000 people through our health plans. Knowing the urgency, we have offered our support and organized conversations with employers and community leaders to help gather feedback and bring perspectives from all corners of the state and from our members.
What we hear and observe is the best care is proactive, coordinated, timely, focuses on quality and makes it easier for people to make their health a priority. But how do we make that happen when we collectively struggle to keep medical professionals in our small towns, people have to drive hundreds of miles to see a specialist and mental health challenges grow larger each year? Those are problems we are all working to solve and ones that require solutions beyond traditional ideas.
As ideas are shared, how do we consider the less obvious but deeply impactful opportunities — like how we use and share data and technology? These tools may not be flashy, but they hold transformative potential. Imagine the difference we could make with more strategic investments in digital infrastructure and coordinated systems that connect rural communities to specialty care. With more personalized telehealth, remote monitoring and intelligent data exchange, we can bring world-class specialists to even the most remote corners of the state. Technology isn’t just a tool — it’s a bridge to better outcomes and access for rural residents. When we focus investments on the most urgent needs — maternal health, behavioral health, chronic conditions — and empower community-rooted solutions, we can move beyond incremental change and take bold steps toward the future.
This is a leapfrog moment. And it is exciting to think about ideas that will come forward. North Dakota is a place where people come together to solve problems. Let’s harness that spirit with the Rural Health Transformation Program to build the healthiest state in the nation and one that sets a new standard for rural health.
