HCMC at "real risk of closing" without additional 1-cent sales tax, Hennepin County claims
Hennepin County leaders, along with top brass from Minneapolis' Hennepin County Medical Center, opened the books in front of a panel of Minnesota senators Wednesday.
The health care system says its financial woes have hit critical mass. Already in 2026, it says it's cut $50 million from its budget — and has plans to cut another $150 million before the year is over.
Compounding the issue, hospital leaders say, is a five-year increase in uncompensated care; from roughly $40 million in 2020, to a staggering $104 million in 2024.
Leaders are also bracing for more than $170 million in annual cuts starting next year due to the passing of H.R. 1, also known as President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
"It's a major deal, it's a major deal. Hennepin Healthcare has the potential to close if we don't get relief," said District 4 Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley. "People need to hear that the hospital is at real risk of closing. We are trying to keep that open. We need this legislative session to do it."
Conley and hospital leaders are lobbying state legislators for a permanent 1-cent sales tax for Hennepin County, which they say could help close the gap.
"The situation is very serious. That's the reason we're taking it very seriously," said HCMC CFO Abdirahman Abdi. "We did a lot of things to mitigate the risk now, but that's going to be enough."
Abdi says rising costs and a loss of UCare money have only compounded their issues. This month, the hospital cut 100 beds and nearly a half-dozen programs.
"It's going to be very difficult to sustain the organization without that sales tax. It's that, or we close. That's what we're looking at," Abdi said.
"There's a lot of lives on the line"
WCCO spoke on Tuesday with Jeremy Olson-Elhert, one of HCMC's remaining nurses working in surgical care. He is also a leader with the union, the Minnesota Nurses Association.
"Truly, you want your life saved, [HCMC] is the place to be," Olson-Elhert said.
He first learned of the hospital when he was working in rural North Dakota, realizing even a state away this was the go-to trauma center, a place where he's just seen jobs and departments cut.
As for seeing coworkers lose jobs, he says it's "really difficult," but he agrees with county and hospital leaders that it had to be done.
"At the end of the day, the decisions are being made to preserve the care for the patients who need it," he said.
Even though they've cut beds, Olson-Elhert says care has not changed and the nurse-to-patient ratio is the same. But to keep the place open, something still has to change.
"There's a lot of lives on the line and we need to come together," he said.
