Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota to Join Cambia Health Solutions as Newest Affiliated Single-State Blue Plan

PORTLAND, Ore. & FARGO, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 21, 2025--

Cambia Health Solutions (Cambia) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) today announced a strategic affiliation to better serve members with access to care that's simpler and more affordable — and remains close to home. The affiliation will unify all operations and enable the organizations to share best practices for local plan innovation and services, deliver personalized member experiences and leverage Cambia's robust technology infrastructure.

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Established in 1995 by four Blue Cross Blue Shield licensees, Cambia is a nonprofit health solutions company that provides management and shared services for local Blue plans across the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West, all connected by a common focus on delivering more for members.

“Affiliating with Cambia allows us to leap ahead in the capabilities we can bring to the North Dakotans we serve,” said Dan Conrad, president and CEO of BCBSND. “We both have a deep commitment to a strong local presence today and into the future. Backed by Cambia’s national scale and resources, we can offer members and customers more affordable plan solutions and personalized health tools, all while continuing to be supported by local employees who understand their health care needs.”

Cambia and BCBSND share a legacy of practical innovation and community commitment. Cambia’s mission is to transform health care to work better for real people and be economically sustainable. It is a founding partner and investor in Echo Health Ventures, which seeks to invest in and grow great health care companies. The health solutions company brings experience offering high-quality, cost-effective health care through personalized member tools that make it easier for people to navigate their care. BCBSND contributes deep expertise and market leadership in rural health, Medicare and Medicaid solutions, and provider collaboration.

“Cambia works every day to make health care easier and lives better for our members. For decades we’ve proven that we can do more when we have partners who share in this work,” said Jared Short, president and CEO of Cambia. “BCBSND’s culture and vision fit perfectly as we work together to innovate and transform health care for the communities we serve.”

Members retain their current coverage and will continue to use their BCBSND insurance card just as they do today. BCBSND will continue to offer Medicare Advantage through NextBlue of North Dakota. BCBSND will maintain its local plan name, board of directors, and philanthropic foundation. It will also continue its mutual status, meaning it will remain governed by voting policyholders rather than investors. All BCBSND’s reserve funds and foundation resources remain in North Dakota. Cambia will also maintain its foundation, and local health plans will operate in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as they do now.

The areas of focus for the affiliation include:

The strategic affiliation is subject to regulatory approval in North Dakota and is expected to close in 2026.

For more information, visit the fact sheet.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota

BCBSND was founded in 1940 with the mission to provide members with affordable access to health care across the state. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), BCBSND is committed to transforming care and health across the state to improve outcomes, lower cost trends and make it easier to shop, buy and use health care coverage. Members have access to unmatched local service and to a comprehensive network of health care providers across the state, the nation and more than 190 countries.

About Cambia Health Solutions

Cambia Health Solutions, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is dedicated to transforming health care. We put people at the heart of everything we do as we work to make the health care system more economically sustainable and efficient for people and their families. Our company reaches millions of Americans nationwide, including more than 3.6 million people served by our regional health plans. To learn more about us, visit CambiaHealth.com.

Dan Conrad, President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota

Jared Short, President and CEO, Cambia Health Solutions

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota to Join Cambia Health Solutions as Newest Affiliated Single-State Blue Plan

The New York Giants hired John Harbaugh as coach on Saturday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced. The sides began working on a contract Wednesday night when it became clear that Harbaugh was the right fit.

Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens, who made the playoffs 12 times with him in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. They fell short of the postseason this year because of a missed kick at the buzzer in Week 18, leading ownership to make an change and put Harbaugh on the market.

General manager Joe Schoen and the Giants pounced, bringing on a proven winner with significant NFL head-coaching experience. Harbaugh was flown in on co-owner Steve Tisch’s private plane earlier this week, spent several hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, spoke with young quarterback Jaxson Dart and got wined and dined at nearby Elia Mediterranean Restaurant.

With the courting process complete, Harbaugh is now tasked with turning around the beleaguered franchise that has made just two playoff appearances over the past 12 years and not made it past the divisional round. Todd Monken could follow him from Baltimore to be offensive coordinator, unless he takes a head-coaching gig in Cleveland or elsewhere.

Harbaugh got the job over the likes of Kevin Stefanski, Mike McCarthy, Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce, leapfrogging some of expected front-runners who got shuffled back as soon as the 63-year-old became available. The chance to work for stable ownership and Dart made New York an attractive landing spot over other places such as Tennessee, Atlanta and Miami.

The Giants have talented pieces in place on either side of the ball, including running back Cam Skattebo, receiver Malik Nabers and left tackle Andrew Thomas on offense, plus pass rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence on defense. They have the fifth pick in the draft to add to that stockpile.

Changing the culture of losing that has pervaded the Meadowlands for the better part of the last decade is now on Harbaugh’s shoulders. Counting playoff games, the seven coaches who followed 2007 and ’11 Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin have gone 45-105-1, a winning percentage of .300.

Harbaugh is 193-124 in 317 games in the league, a .609 winning percentage, since taking over the Ravens in 2008. He spent the previous 10 seasons as an assistant with Philadelphia, mostly as special teams coordinator and then defensive backs coach.

Schoen, after finding out from Tisch and co-owner John Mara that he was returning for a fifth year as GM, said the search would not be limited to just offensive- or defensive-minded options. While Harbaugh comes from a special teams background, he provides the kind of all-around coaching Schoen was believed to be looking for, along with a championship pedigree and a reputation that should garner him immediate respect within the locker room.

This is Schoen’s second hire after bringing Brian Daboll with him from Buffalo, where both were assistants with the Bills, in January 2022. Ownership fired Daboll on Nov. 10 after the Giants lost eight of the first 10 games in his fourth season as coach.

Mike Kafka coached out the string as the interim replacement after being promoted from offensive coordinator, and the team lost five in a row before winning its final two games to finish with a 4-13 record. Kafka interviewed but was never a serious candidate for the full-time job.

Almost no one was compared with Harbaugh, giving the Giants an off-field win that might be their biggest of any kind in several years.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)

FILE -Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen J. Bisciotti, right, holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he and head coach John Harbaugh celebrate the team's 34-31win against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)