Blue Cross of Idaho plans to lay off 135 employees in June after losing a contract to national competitors.
The company said the cuts are a response to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare canceling its contract for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. In December, the state announced it would award the Medicare Medicaid Coordinated Plan and Idaho Medicaid Plus Plan to UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare and Molina Healthcare. The contracts span four years and will go into effect in 2026.
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Blue Cross of Idaho’s reduction represents about 10% of the nonprofit insurance company’s workforce. Affected employees worked in utilization management, care coordination and provider relations divisions, among others, according to a letter Blue Cross of Idaho sent to the state Department of Labor.
“Unfortunately, the loss of this program will require us to reduce our workforce, specifically the 135 employees directly related to the care of the dual population. This is a decision no one at the company takes lightly and is in no way a reflection of the quality of work and care accomplished by these employees,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
Blue Cross of Idaho has about 583,000 Medicare, Medicaid and commercial enrollees.
Last year, the company established Gemstone Holdings, a nonprofit customer-owned holding company.
Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey have also reorganized in recent years to create holding companies. Companies say these entities allow them to make outside investments and better compete with large, for-profit health insurers.
