The Future of Minnesota Healthcare
With Sanford Health moving to acquire North Memorial Health, and California-based Sutter Health set to acquire Allina Health, the professionals who keep our hospitals running and the families who rely on them are asking: Who do these massive corporate mergers serve?
Our priority is workplace stability and patient safety. We know that when mega-healthcare systems consolidate, the promised "efficiencies" usually lead to staffing cuts, reduced services and closures for rural towns, and the loss of hard-won worker protections. Hospital executives point to financial pressures to justify these moves, but we continue to see these expansions paired with reduced patient access to care across our state.
This isn't a new trend. Over the past 25 years, Minnesota has watched its healthcare landscape move from 68 independent hospitals to fewer than one-third remaining independent today. Over that same period, hospital prices have nearly tripled. Corporate acquisitions have resulted in higher medical bills, fewer healthcare choices, cuts for frontline workers, and decisions made by executives sitting far away from the communities their choices impact.
Accountability and Equity
We cannot allow worker standards to be diluted or union contracts to be ignored in the name of a corporate merger. Our members deserve clear, enforceable commitments that their bargaining rights, benefits, and successor language will be honored.
Together with labor and community allies, we are calling on state leaders to mandate that any approved hospital acquisition include real, legally enforceable benefits for our communities and that health system CEOs agree to our proposed Community Benefits Agreements to protect all of us. We are demanding:
- Affordable patient care and protections against rising costs
- Protection of frontline healthcare workers from layoffs and honoring current contracts for union members
- Investments in mental health and substance use treatment
- Increased psychiatric bed capacity statewide
- Medical debt forgiveness commitments
- Career pathways and good jobs for healthcare workers of color, including tuition reimbursements and investment in on-the-job training opportunities
- Protections from insurance company interference in healthcare decisions
- Protection from the implementation of artificial intelligence systems that undermine the quality of patient care and jeopardize worker and patient data
Take Action Now!
We continue to call for a rigorous, completely transparent review of both the Sanford/North Memorial and Allina/Sutter proposals. State leaders need to hear from the people who live and work on the frontlines.
- Sign the Petition: Join AFSCME Council 65, ISAIAH MN, and other Labor & Community Partners in demanding real community benefits and worker protections. bit.ly/mn_healthcare
- Submit Your Concerns: You can also submit private, legally protected comments regarding your concerns about these mergers directly to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Health-Care/Transactions/Input.asp