As Minnesota Legislature provides funds to save HCMC, concerns remain about long-term
After months of sounding the alarm, there is relief inside HCMC.
The state's busiest trauma hospital was on the brink of financial ruin, and still faces major challenges with leadership projecting $50 million in losses this year. But rescue came in the form of a $700 million package from the state legislature in the dying hours of this year's legislative session.
"The nurses really look at this whole agreement kind of as a victory," Jeremy Olson-Ehlert said.
Olson-Ehlert is a registered nurse with HCMC and serves as the second vice president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. He helped push legislators to help provide relief, culminating in a $205 million one-time injection and a $500 million hospital stabilization reserve fund. That fund requires specific and strict criteria for hospitals to be eligible, and functionally, Olson-Ehlert said HCMC is likely the only hospital in the state that would qualify.
The spending bill passed on Sunday also includes guardrails on HCMC operations, establishing a governing board to monitor hospital operations.
"Looking toward the future, our goal is simple: that we never again reach the point where essential care for Minnesotans is at risk. What put us into crisis was a long-standing structural problem, not a single moment in time. The stabilization funding gives us the breathing room to fix that — and we are using this moment to put durable safeguards in place," an HCMC spokesperson said in a statement.
Ohlson-Elhert, however, said he has concerns about the long-term future. He said that with anticipated changes to Medicaid spending at the federal level, HCMC could still struggle. He said that protecting the healthcare system statewide will likely still be a key topic of next year's legislative session.
While HCMC has hundreds of millions of dollars headed its way, smaller hospitals are wondering what they can expect.
David Walz, the CEO of Madelia Health, said that he and his team are worried about their 25-bed hospital and local clinics. Walz said that he was relieved to see HCMC get the help it needed, but he's not sure if rural hospitals will be able to survive without their own funding packages down the line.
"We're just at a smaller scale but same boat, same dire situation," Walz said.
Initially, the state senate approved about $115 million for struggling hospitals. That figure came down to about $30 million for specific kinds of hospitals in rural areas. Walz said he isn't sure if Madelia qualifies or how to apply.
"We've been on a line of credit with a local bank in Madelia for the last couple of years," Walz said, who added that Madelia has recently had to end certain kinds of services.
