Medica, Blue Cross notch big growth in public insurance

UCare's pain over a lost state contract has resulted in big enrollment gains for two rival health insurers. The HMO division of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota added about 162,000 members in state public health insurance programs between December and January, according to new state data, while Minnetonka-based Medica added 120,000. Minneapolis-based UCare, meanwhile, lost about 343,000 enrollees, according to a report posted earlier this month by the state Department of Human Services. The numbers provide a first look at how the market is changing after UCare lost most of its massive contract with the state to manage care for the largest portions of the Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare insurance programs.