PrimeWest Health director outlines county-based managed-care model, local impacts for Beltrami County

Matt Magnuson, director of member and provider services and the incoming CEO of PrimeWest Health, told the Beltrami County Board that PrimeWest is a "county joint powers organization that operates a health insurance company" and that its county-based purchasing model is designed to protect rural providers and return surplus funds to local health infrastructure.

PrimeWest’s county-based model contracts with the state to receive a per-member, per-month capitation payment and then pays claims for enrolled Medicaid and Medicare members. Magnuson said PrimeWest serves about 75,000 members across 24 rural Minnesota counties and that Beltrami County has roughly 10,500 members enrolled in those programs. He said the plan’s 2025 budget included about $419,000,000 in state-funded Medicaid/Medicare revenue and that the organization…