County commissioners voted 6-1 to retake control of Hennepin County Medical Center
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The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to retake control of Hennepin County Medical Center to prevent the state’s last remaining public safety-net hospital from closing due to an expected $36 million budget shortfall.
The county’s safety-net hospital system has seen an operating loss for seven of the past eight years, partly due to rising costs for uncompensated care. Hospital leaders told commissioners in June that those shortfalls along with expected cuts to federal funding could force the hospital to close or make steep cuts to staff and programs.
Hennepin County commissioners voted 6-1 to remove the 14-member Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) board of directors, which currently oversees the hospital. County commissioners will take their places on the Hennepin Healthcare board.
County board chair Irene Fernando has served on the hospital board since 2020. She said it’s the county’s responsibility to ensure that it stays open.
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“This is not a joyful action for me. This is pretty heartbreaking. The last public safety net hospital in Minnesota must remain open,” Fernando said. “It must be a vibrant place where people feel safe receiving care, where people recommend to others that they should receive care there.”
Hennepin County Medical Center was directly overseen by the county board until 2007, when it was spun off as part of a subsidiary of the county.
An amendment proposed by commissioner Kevin Anderson requires a report next July that details the steps that have been taken by the new body to establish financial stability.
Anderson said waiting to take action just increases the risk that the hospital would close.
“We have all seen what happens when hospitals close, when care gets further away, when emergencies become tragedies and communities lose their lifeline to supports and services,” Anderson said. “We can’t let this be about politics. We need to make sure this is a temporary emergency step to stabilize HHS, to keep the doors open and hand it back to an independent board.”
Several commissioners said the move was not a reflection on the work of the current Hennepin Healthcare board members.
Amendments proposed by commissioner Heather Edelson that would have required staff to establish a timeline for returning the hospital board to independent control both failed to pass after commissioners said the action would be premature. Edelson said she couldn’t support the action without a clearer timeline.
Board members had fought the proposal. Chair Mohamed Omar said the hospital’s financial trouble comes from rising costs and decreasing income from insurance providers — not from any mismanagement by the current leaders. HCMC treats everyone, regardless of ability to pay — including a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured
Omar said he’s skeptical that commissioners will be able to come up with a better plan for the hospital’s financial problems.
“They don’t want to raise taxes. They also do not want to do cuts,” Omar said. “What is, then, the solution?”
Omar also said the Hennepin Healthcare board is an important source of community input. He said the board is about two-thirds people of color, close to the demographics served by HCMC.
Several state legislators representing the county also say they’re concerned. Eight officials sent a letter to Hennepin County commissioners last week urging them to hear more public input before voting.
“We believe that the timeline for this governance restructuring is being rushed and lacks sufficient public transparency, legislative consultation, and procedural safeguards,” the legislators wrote.
Unions at the hospital are welcoming the potential restructuring. They have asked county commissioners to dissolve the board in the past, saying the board hasn’t done enough to address workplace concerns and financial issues.
Shane Hallow is the president of the Hennepin County Association of Paramedics and EMTs, one of the unions representing hospital employees.
“It is an opportunity to right the ship — correct the leadership of the organization and how that leadership is held accountable, and then put in place a structure that works for the future,” Hallow said.
Hallow said he thinks there are more chances to hold commissioners accountable, because they are elected officials.
