Lawmakers hear two possible solutions to help keep Hennepin Healthcare's doors open
Lawmakers at the Minnesota State Capitol are searching for solutions, trying to lend a hand to Hennepin Healthcare before it's too late.
The county-owned health provider says it's losing more than $100 million to patients who can't pay.
Lawmakers seem to be in consensus that they need to come to the aid of HCMC. They say rising costs for labor and equipment, as well in a surge in what they called uncompensated care has them facing a $50 million budget deficit. With changes coming to Medicaid, that number could only grow.
Now the state is eyeing two potential solutions to try and make a dent.
The first is expanding on a countywide sales tax that was initially created to pay for Target Field.
Lawmakers want to jack up that tax from less than .25% to 1% of every dollar spent countywide.
The state's department of revenue says that had the tax been in place last year, it would have generated $337 million.
The other idea floated Wednesday was to create a statewide hospital stabilization program. Under this, all hospitals could apply for state assistance. This bill would also create what it calls a stabilization grant for HCMC to get things back on track.
"There's only so much we can do. There's no way that we can cut ourselves out of this problem," said CEO of North Memorial Health Trevor Sawallish. "HCMC and Robbinsdale are lifelines for real people — families who need emergency care, seniors managing chronic illness, patients who don't have the luxury of waiting or traveling further. That's why public funding really matters and why it's important we have to recognize the strain on all hospitals."
Hennepin Healthcare says it's not just their services that need support, but their buildings as well. They say they'll need more than $350 million to maintain their buildings over the next five years.