Westworld Community Healthcare Inc. of Lake Forest...

Westworld Community Healthcare Inc. of Lake Forest said Thursday that its recently formed health maintainence organization has been authorized to begin operations in South Dakota, marking the second state in which the prepaid plan has been approved.

Beginning Feb. 1, the company’s Westcare plan will be offered to residents of Custer County, and the communities of Bowdie and Estelline. This territory is already served by the local hospital Westworld operates there.

Earlier this month, Westworld began offering the prepaid medical plan in the Crook County, Wyoming area. By the end of the year, the company, which operates 35 health care systems in 13 states, plans to offer its prepaid health plan in all of the communities it serves.