Millions of dollars are on the way to HCMC, Minnesota's largest trauma center, now that the state legislative session has ended and lawmakers approved a healthcare bill.
The safety-net hospital serves more low-income and uninsured patients than any other facility in Minnesota and is expected to lose more than $1 billion in the next decade.
The legislative aid for HCMC includes $205 million in state support this year and access to a $500 million reserve account available through 2031.
Although hospital leaders were hoping for a steady stream of income via a ballpark tax on Target Field, the funding will tide them over until the next legislative session, said Jeffrey Lunde a Hennepin County commissioner and chair of Hennepin Healthcare, which oversees HCMC.
“I think the Legislature is going to take on the fact that healthcare in Minnesota is sick in and of itself, and then there needs to be structural changes, and so this helps us get to that next stage,” Lunde told MPR News.
He said HCMC will continue to try to collect on UCare payments and possibly look to offload some services to other hospitals to help mitigate further deficits.