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The collapse of Minnesota-based health insurer UCare is adding an extra layer of confusion to open enrollment for tens of thousands of elderly and low-income Minnesotans this year.
Minnetonka-based Medica is taking on former UCare clients. To talk about that transition, Medica CEO Lisa Erickson joined Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition on Wednesday.
Listen to the conversation by clicking the player button. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Will UCare customers automatically be moved to a Medica plan?
Health care coverage is so important, and this impacts about 300,000 Minnesotans. Our top priority from the beginning was ensuring the least possible disruption for members. With that in mind, we don’t anticipate any immediate change — 2025 coverage continues unchanged for UCare members. For 2026, UCare members can choose their same plans in the individual market and in the Medicaid space, or be automatically enrolled, so the transition really will be seamless for members. That's our goal.
Insurers face the same financial headwinds that toppled UCare: higher costs and lower government reimbursements. Medica saw a $176 million operating loss last year. How will you make sure the financial problems of UCare won’t become the problems of Medica?
Well, clearly that was top of mind for us, because we don't want to continue that. This is not a positive moment for the nonprofit health care ecosystem. But as we looked at it, we’ve done a significant amount of work this year, working with the state, to ensure that we have rates that make sense and that allow us to feel like we have a sustainable path going forward. And so we felt like we could pick up these members, create a seamless transition for Minnesotans, do something that’s consistent with our mission, and feel like we have an approach that is sustainable.
But you’re taking on a cohort of people who are older and maybe sicker. What are the odds that when open enrollment comes around next year, you’ll be forced to substantially hike rates or cut back on benefits?
Well, a couple of things. We’re taking on the Medicaid and individual parts of the business. Unfortunately, the Medicare Advantage membership is not going forward; UCare announced that quite a few months ago. So we will have a Medicaid population and an individual market. And again, in the Medicaid space, we work closely with the state on actuarial assumptions to make sure that we’re aligned on what kind of rates are sustainable. I think we have a good partnership and relationship there, and feel like we have a good path.
What’s your advice to the people using Medicare Advantage right now?
There is a significant amount of change in the Medicare Advantage market, and we’re very well aware of the disruption, and we’re doing everything that we can, through our call center and our reps, to provide information. I know all of the other plans are doing that as well. So I would encourage people who were on a plan that is not going forward to make some calls, reach out to their adviser, reach out to the plans and get the information and help they need to get enrolled in a new Medicare Advantage plan.
More than 1,000 UCare employees are losing their jobs. What percentage of that workforce will you absorb?
We don’t know at this point exactly what number, but we recognize there’s a significant amount of talent, expertise and history at UCare in serving this population and we absolutely want to make sure we bring that talent over and can continue to effectively support the Medicaid population and the rest of the members that we’ll be absorbing. So I see a good amount. I just don’t have a number at this point.
The transaction between UCare and Medica needs approval. Do you anticipate the attorney general’s office raising any issues?
Oh, yes, there’s a significant number of different approvals that need to be completed. But we feel like we’ve had good support and partnership up till now, and so we feel confident that we’ll be able to get that done.
Correction (Nov. 19, 2025): An earlier version of this story misstated the location of Medica's headquarters. This story has been updated.
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