HealthPartners membership increased by 4.6% in 2010

In 2010, more people chose HealthPartners to provide medical and dental insurance, health and wellness solutions and medical care. As a result, HealthPartners membership grew by 4.6 percent, now totals nearly 1.36 million members and has grown by 56 percent since 2005.

“We grew in 2010 because we have focused on providing more affordable coverage and keeping our administrative costs low”

"We grew in 2010 because we have focused on providing more affordable coverage and keeping our administrative costs low," said David Dziuk, HealthPartners chief financial officer.

Expenses and administrative costs were 5.4 percent of revenue (excluding taxes and assessments) demonstrating HealthPartners position as a national leader in keeping administrative costs as low as possible. The strong growth in members - and patients at HealthPartners Medical Group clinics - resulted in a 6 percent increase in revenue. HealthPartners overall margin for 2010 was 3.5 percent, according to financial information filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Financial reserves, funds set aside to ensure that money is available to pay claims in case of catastrophic events, increased slightly to 2.1 months of operating expenses as a result of increased membership."

"As a consumer-governed organization, we are focused on making sure that we keep care and coverage affordable," said Mary Brainerd, CEO of HealthPartners. "Our work in 2010, which focused on health improvement, care coordination and creating new tools and approaches to support our members, played a key role in keeping health care trends low. In addition, medical trend actually was lower than anticipated, reflecting a decrease in demand for health care services."

As a non-profit health plan, HealthPartners margin is used to make investments in our mission to improve the health of our members, our patients and the community. For instance, in 2010 HealthPartners launched virtuwell, a 24/7 online clinic that allows patients and members in Minnesota and Wisconsin to get care (including prescriptions) without leaving their homes. In addition to being low cost and convenient for patients, it also frees up doctors in urgent care facilities and clinics to treat patients with more serious illnesses or injuries.