Sanford, Jamestown and state medical association back HB1012 funding for value‑based care and workforce supports

BISMARCK — Executives from Sanford Health and Jamestown Regional Medical Center, and the North Dakota Medical Association, spoke in favor of provisions in House Bill 10‑12 that fund value‑based purchasing pilots, behavioral health workforce expansion and training partnerships.

Why it matters: Hospital leaders said state support for Medicaid expansion, workforce initiatives and targeted grants has let hospitals expand preventive care, behavioral‑health services inside primary care, school‑based psychology and training pipelines for physicians and nurses. They argued those investments improve local access and reduce downstream costs.

Key testimony - Todd Schafer, President and CEO of Sanford Health in Bismarck, described operational changes tied to value‑based metrics: fluoride varnish in pediatric visits to prevent dental decay; routine depression screening embedded in check‑in workflows; embedding social workers and therapists within clinics to provide same‑day behavioral care; and school‑based psychologists to reduce absenteeism and juvenile referrals.

- Schafer also described workforce strategies: Sanford reported hiring international nurses (about 446 internationally educated nurses hired systemwide, testimony said) and large training volumes for clinical students (150,000 clinical hours for nursing students cited), which leaders credited with reducing reliance on contract labor and enabling bed expansions.

- Mike Delfs, CEO of Jamestown Regional Medical Center, and the North Dakota Medical Association stressed rural hospitals’ focus on readmission reduction, chronic‑disease management and collaborative networks to standardize care across communities.

Operational examples and outcomes - Sanford said embedding fluoride treatment and depression screening into clinic workflows has produced measurable increases in preventive services and rapid access to behavioral health follow‑up. Schafer described a school‑based program that now operates in nine schools in his region and reported more than 2,000 student visits in 2024.

- Hospital witnesses credited legislative changes for enabling recruitment (telepsychology, expanded supervisor rules for counselors, and Medicaid reimbursement for predoctoral psychology interns). They asked appropriators to continue funding that supports training and residency programs to keep clinicians in state.

Ending Hospital leaders told the committee the investments in HB1012 are producing operational improvements that increase access and quality in rural and regional facilities; they asked the Legislature to sustain funding that supports workforce development and value‑based quality programs.