• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Two health insurers said they intend to sell plans to South Dakota residents through the federal marketplace during the open enrollment period that begins in November, but it is unclear whether at least two other companies have filed documents with the state that would allow them to offer plans through the same system.
• Insurers faced a Sunday deadline to submit their plans to the state's Division of Insurance for review.
• The nation's new health care law requires nearly every American to have insurance coverage. The next period to enroll in a health plan using the federal www.healthcare.gov starts in November and coverage purchased at that time will go into effect in 2015.
• Representatives for Avera Health Plans and Sanford Health Plan said they have filed policies with the state. Dakotacare, Avera and Sanford were the only insurers selling plan to South Dakota residents during the site's first run.
• Debra Muller, chief administrative officer for Avera Health Plans, said the insurer plans to keep some of its offerings and change others after taking into consideration consumer feedback. She said the insurer will offer additional high-deductible plans that are compatible with tax-free Health Savings Accounts. It will also sell an option that would reduce consumers' medical bills should they choose an Avera provider.
• "We are going to be enthusiastically participating again in the individual marketplace, both on and off the exchange, and with the smaller employer option," Muller said.
• Muller said Avera received 11,000 applicants through the marketplace during the open enrollment period that ended in March. She said 89 percent of those applicants paid their first month's premium.
• Lisa Carlson, Sanford's director of planning and regulation, said the insurer intends to offer at the minimum the same four individual and five small group plans it sold through March. The insurer could not provide additional details because it offers plans in two other states that have later state filing deadlines.
• Carlson said Sanford had 2,262 enrollees in South Dakota through the marketplace and an additional 500 are in pending status because they are yet to pay.
• Premium fees could change or remain the same after undergoing an actuarial review from the state.
• Aside from the federal enrollment website, South Dakota residents can shop for

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