BISMARCK – A North Dakota district court judge has approved a motion for summary judgment by Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread to block an illegal rate increase on consumers of a financially troubled long-term care insurance company operated by the state of Pennsylvania.

In 2021, the Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, a long-term care insurance company, became financially unsustainable, and the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner took control of the company’s operations. Shortly after, the company sought to impose rate hikes, bypassing North Dakota’s prior approval laws, which require rate changes to be approved by the insurance commissioner. There are about 371 policyholders in North Dakota, many of whom would have been immediately affected by rate hikes, benefit reductions or other drawbacks.

In 2022, Godfread sued the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner to halt the implementation of the illegal rate increases. A temporary halt was placed in 2023 until the case could be heard in court. The District Court of North Dakota approved the motion on Monday.

“This ruling upholds North Dakota’s right to protect and preserve its laws, regardless of who is violating them,” Godfread said. “My priority is to protect North Dakota consumers, and when a company is attempting to subvert our laws and undercut the state-based system of insurance regulation that has existed for the past 150 years, I have a duty to stop it.”

Pennsylvania officials are permitted 60 days to appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court.