Sharp Health Plan
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 330519730
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Diego, CA, US
- Phone
- 8584998391
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,199,323,529
- Expenses
- $1,160,901,397
- Assets
- $361,639,726
- Liabilities
- $103,755,178
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRISTOPHER D HOWARD (CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO SHC)
- MELISSA HAYDEN-COOK (VICE CHAIR THRU 01/03/2025, PRESIDENT & CEO-SHP)
- MICHAEL BYRD (VICE CHAIR, PRESIDENT & CEO-SHP AS OF 12/08/2024)
- WILLIAM S EVANS (SECRETARY AS OF 03/19/2025, SVP MARKET CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER D HOWARD (CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO SHC): $2,750,617 total reported compensation
- BRETT G MCCLAIN (DIRECTOR, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER SHC): $1,798,710 total reported compensation
- SUSAN GREEN (TREASURER, EVP & CFO SHC): $1,436,739 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote the health and to serve the community interests of the residents of California, by operation of a health maintenance organization and by provision of other managed health care services. To support the charitable and community oriented mission and programs of the sharp healthcare system. To do generally all things and transact all business which any person or individual may lawfully do, not inconsistent with the purposes of the corporation or with the rights and purposes of a nonprofit organization.
What it reported doing in 2024
Sharp health plan (shp) offers a wide variety of commercial benefit plans to businesses in san diego and southern riverside counties. Shp is a san diego based commercial health plan and as a not-for-profit enterprise, we are here for one simple reason: to serve our members since 1992. Sharp health plan offers a variety of health insurance options for individuals, families and businesses that combine affordability and choice, while delivering high quality health care and personal service. Members have access to valuable plan enhancements, such as interactive wellness resources, dental discounts, sharp nurse connection and our exclusive global emergency services program. In 2013, sharp health plan was selected as one of 13 health plans to participate in covered California's individual marketplace and one of six health plans to participate in covered California's small business health options program ("shop") marketplace for small businesses. See community benefits report summary on schedule o.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 99% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 45
- Accountability: 54
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 96.5%; rating input score 97
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 26.9%; rating input score 27; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 28.6%; rating input score 29; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 96.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1B in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $2.8M · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $679.3M reported
- Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 9 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 29/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.
- Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.