A ‘peoplefirst’ mindset New leadership at Noridian Healthcare Solutions talks goals, growth and people

By Andrew Weeks

Jon Bogenreif greeted the new year with a new role.

On Jan. 1 he became the chief executive officer of Noridian Healthcare Solutions, based in Fargo, North Dakota. He spent a year working alongside previous CEO Paul Wilson, who retired at the end of 2021.

Bogenreif said he is up for the challenge of leading a company whose biggest client is the federal government.

Noridian was established in 1966 as a department of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, where Bogenreif served as senior vice president of operations before joining the company early last year, and is today a sister company of BCBSND. But even after more than 50 years in business, people are still becoming familiar with the company that is a Medicare administrative contractor.

“It’s interesting,” Bogenreif said. “We’re in the Fargo market, but when we start describing what we do and the scale at which we do it, I think people are surprised to not know more about Noridian.”

Prairie Business wanted to learn more about the company and so it spoke with Bogenreif and Ranga Nutakki, senior vice president, general consul and corporate secretary. These also are new roles for Nutakki, who leads legal services for new business, government contracts and other corporate ventures.

Wilson said the company’s future is in good hands.

“Jon’s tremendous talent and background are what Noridian needs to stay focused and on course for long-term success,” Wilson said in a prepared statement sent to Prairie Business. “Noridian’s foundation is solid, and the stage is set for expansion into additional markets that will benefit from the organization’s expertise.” ***

Noridian Healthcare Solutions contracts with federal, state and commercial health care programs through a full suite of innovative offerings, including claims processing, medical review, and provider administrative services. It has clients across the country, but it is the government contracts that keep the company hopping.

The company’s federal contracts are “how we’re best known as an organization,” Bogenreif said. “But we do also have some Medicaid contracts within the state of North Dakota. … I would say our contracts with the federal government are in three buckets. One is for Medicare Part A and B, which are the hospitals and doctors and clinics and things of that nature. For that workload we process about 17% of all the Medicare claims in the country.”

The second bucket, as he describes it, covers durable medical equipment for Medicare – “things like wheelchairs and scooters and other kinds of medical supplies seniors need,” he said. Third are the supplemental medical review contracts in all 50 states and US territories.

***

Bogenreif said Noridian has “immense capabilities” that scale its administrative services, and over the next three years the company hopes to pursue “a growth strategy that really takes these services to new markets,” he said. “When we talk about new markets, we’re talking about other Medicaid states we could provide services to, and we want to grow our footprint within that service line.”

He also wants to grow its commercial line. A trend, he said, is for some provider organizations to have their own health insurance plan.

“We could be a good solution for organizations to administer the health insurance aspect of their business and allow them to continue to focus on care delivery,” he said.

Bogenreif, of course, has his own personal goals as the company’s new CEO, one of which is to keep its people-first priority. He said he is impressed by how people-focused Noridian is, something Nutakki also has noticed since taking on his new roles last year.

Nutakki said the company prides itself on exemplifying the motto “people first.” It is not only a mindset, he said, but a practical culture event at the company.

Before moving to Fargo, Nutakki lived in Minneapolis. He has nothing bad to say about that city, but said Fargo has been a more welcoming community, demonstrating some of the “people first” mentality that Noridian tries to exemplify.

“For me it has been a really good learning experience,” he said. “Since coming here I feel like the work I do resonates personally a little more than it did for me previously. I think that speaks to the people-first mindset of not only the community but this company.”

He said the employees he speaks with regularly say something similar about how they are impacted by the work they do, in large part because of the personal connection.

“It’s been a heartwarming experience for me just to work in that environment, in a space right where people are doing things for what are called the right reasons. … I think there’s a much more personal and direct tie to the way we operate here.”

Nutakki echoed what Bogenreif said about expanding Noridian’s model outside of the government sector.

“A lot of my time and effort is going to be exploring those spaces and working with the respective functions within the company on how to do that,” Nutakki said. “There are a lot of regulations within the industry and so getting up to speed on those better than I am today. I have the blessing of a really talented group of people that were here before I came that I’ve been working with, learning from, and helping me to take that next step forward for this company.”

Bogenreif said he plans to continue the history of success developed during Wilson’s time at the organization and live out the company’s core values of constant innovation, service excellence, responsible stewardship, integrity and effective collaboration.

“One of the things we did is update our mission statement as an organization, to kind of memorialize that aspect of Noridian’s culture,” he said. “Our new mission is to enable access to health care, to eliminate barriers and to elevate people.

“Elevating people applies to customers, certainly … but also to our fellow employees as we work with each other on how we help people live the best version of themselves as we engage with them on a daily basis.”

LeNear Douglas

Three

new hires join

Houston Engineering

FARGO, N.D. • Houston Engineering Inc welcomes three new hires to its teams in Fargo, North Dakota, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

Beverly (Bev) Jung joins HEI’s Thief River Falls team as an administrative assistant. She will be the friendly face greeting clients, leading the daily operation of administrative duties, coordinating social events for the Thief River Falls team, and assisting technical staff with preparing reports and other client deliverables locally and cross-office, as needed.

A Minnesota native, Jung attended the Secretarial Program at East Grand Forks Technical College and has many years of experience in administrative and facility management related roles, which has helped her hone her skills to ensure smooth day-to-day operations.

Jackson Kamrud joins HEI’s Fargo team as a civil engineer. In his role, he will perform a variety of engineering tasks supporting primarily water resources and municipal projects. A native of Finley, North Dakota, Kamrud earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University. He previously interned at HEI.

Clarence Zimmel joins HEI’s Fargo team as a civil construction technician. Originally from Wheaton, Minnesota, Zimmel earned his bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from North Dakota State University, where he also obtained his EIT certificate.

As a civil construction technician, he will work with civil engineers on project specifications, plans, and reports; prepare CAD designs; complete construction inspection and management; and provide landowner and contractor coordination.

Paulsen adds member to account service team

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. • Paulsen hired LeNear Douglas to serve as an account coordinator.

The South Dakota State University alumnus earned a bachelor of science in advertising and communications and is excited to get his start in agency work.

Douglas began his collegiate studies in SDSU’s aviation program before switching to leadership and management of nonprofit organizations. A communications course within that track nudged him toward his eventual degree in advertising and communications.

He said he likes learning what drives people and influences their decision-making. He is results-driven and likes working with people. At Paulsen, Douglas will work closely with a handful of clients to ensure they have the assets and support they need to reach their marketing objectives.

Three earn PE licenses at Houston Engineering

FARGO, N.D. • Three individuals at Houston Engineering Inc. have earned their Professional Engineer (PE) licenses: Ryan David, Cody Oltz, and Paul Strong.

Ryan David is a civil engineer serving clients from HEI’s Bismarck office. He is actively involved in project design, drafting, document preparation, and construction observation on a variety of projects. In addition, he was a licensed water plant operator and has experience in the operation and maintenance of water plant systems and equipment.

Cody Oltz is a civil engineer serving clients from HEI’s Fargo office. He specializes in water resources and modeling services that support flood protection, transportation, and site development projects throughout the region.

Paul Strong is a civil engineer serving clients from HEI’s Fargo office. Strong’s six years of engineering experience on a variety of hydrology and hydraulics, environmental, solid waste management, and site design projects has given him the knowledge to comprehensively assess projects to ensure that exceptional results are achieved.

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