History

In 1985, employers and providers began discussions about the need to provide quality medical services at predictable, affordable rates. This evolved into a cooperative, community-based plan—not a provider-based plan or an employer coalition plan—and remains the model for NIHP.

The first actual products from the initial informal alliance were introduced in 1989. By 1998, the Plan had close to 20,000 members utilizing FHN providers and began offering Health Management services including pre-certification, utilization review, and case management. In 2000, the Plan began providing a full range of Third Party Administration (TPA) services to help meet the administrative needs of the area's self-insured employers.

Today, NIHP boasts a network of over 2,000 providers who offer a complete range of services, from primary care to chiropractic care to heart transplants...and the list continues to grow.