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Madison, will be transformed into the Beacom Institute of Technology. University President David Borofsky said the institute -- which will have 60,000 square feet of classroom space -- will enable the university to grow its information technology programs.
• Josh Pauli, associate professor of cyber operations, said earlier this month that the school wants to build a Secret Compartmentalized Information Facility -- essentially a bunker for top-security cyber work -- and that the Defense Department has promised to supply it with grant projects if built.
• "Cyber security has permeated every business, particularly the ones I'm involved in, banking and health care," Sanford said.
• Mayor Roy Lindsay said the project will "keep moving Madison forward," not only in the area but also nationally.
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SD defers to insurance firms on health care law
CARSON WALKER, Associated Press
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota will allow insurance companies to decide whether to allow a few thousand state residents to keep their health plans that otherwise would be canceled under the federal health care law.
• The Division of Insurance made the announcement Tuesday in response to President Barack Obama's decision Nov. 14 to give companies the option of extending policies for another year. The state still had to approve the changes.
• "The federal government was not dictating that we needed to do this. They left it up to the states," said state insurance director Merle Scheiber. "We had a choice."
• Of the three Sioux Falls-based health systems approved to offer plans on the health exchange in South Dakota, Avera Health Plans and DAKOTACARE said they will give individuals and groups the option of keeping their plans. Sanford Health Plan said it will reinstate the policies that were due to expire on Dec. 31.
• "We think it's best for the policyholders to have more time to choose the policy that makes sense for them," said Ruth Krystopolski, president of the Sanford Health Plan.
• The organization already had sent out cancellation notices to 2,000 policyholders, she said.
• Kirk Zimmer, CEO of DAKOTACARE, said 563 small groups and roughly 4,000 individual members will have the choice to stay with their current plan. Depending on their renewal dates, some people's coverage actually could extend into 2015, he said.
• Deb Muller, chief administrative officer of Avera Health Plans, said about 400 in (Continued on page 23)
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