Aug. 7, 2019

An Illinois health care executive has joined Sanford Health as the new president of Sanford Health Plan.

John Snyder most recently served as president and CEO of Health Alliance Medical Plans, a plan owned by provider Carle Health System. Snyder also was executive vice president and system chief operating officer at Carle.

He replaces Kirk Zimmer, who retired after leading the health plan since 2015 when he came to Sanford from Dakotacare.

“I’ve known Sanford for a long time, and I’ve always been intrigued by the innovation and things going on,” Snyder said.

“I’m excited about the opportunity. I think it’s unique and lets me use everything I’ve learned in my career to make a difference. My goal is to make the plan provide the best service and help members navigate a very different environment in health care.”

Sanford Health Plan covers almost 192,000 members, including almost 44,000 in South Dakota. It has almost 300 employees.

“My first priority is understanding the organization, the health plan itself and the bigger Sanford organization,” Snyder said. “I think provider-owned health care plans really are unique and can offer members something different, and I want to be able to leverage the health plan for the system to be able to provide the best experience for members and patients.”