Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, presently the largest health insurer in North Dakota celebrates its 75th anniversary. The health insurer didn't have this big start when it was started in 1940.

Shortly after the company started in 1940, it had only 9,000 policyholders, largely due to the efforts of St. Luke's Hospitals and St. John's Hospital in Fargo, which sought to find a way to help patients pay hospital bills using prepaid health insurance, a novel concept at the time.

Today, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and its subsidiary operations insure more than 500,000 people and employ about 2,800 workers, most in North Dakota.

People insured under the health insurer include several employer groups that have been with Blue Cross Blue Shield since the beginning, said Tim Huckle, president and CEO.

Huckle, who has been with Blue Cross Blue Shield for nearly 30 years said in a statement that those groups include the school district in Wing, Midwest Motor Express and the University of Jamestown.

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm said Blue Cross Blue Shield's importance in the state's insurance picture cannot be overstated.

Hamm said, "I've always said its responsibilities to our state are greater than some insurers because they play such a large role in the health and financial well-being of so many of our citizens".

Hamm congratulated Blue Cross Blue Shield on their 75th anniversary and look forward to working with them in the years to come.

It has been said that since its formation in 1940, the company's first home was in the First National Bank building in downtown Fargo.

It later shifted in 1968 to what is now called the WDAY building at 301 8th St. S. in Fargo, and in 1979 it settled into its current home at 45th Street and 13th Avenue South in Fargo.