Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare is working to cut $200 million in costs by the end of 2026. However, internal savings alone will not be enough to keep the system afloat, with closure possible if the state legislature doesn’t act quickly.
Both Hennepin Healthcare and local leaders are pushing for legislation to repurpose and expand an existing Hennepin County sales tax to create a recurring and stable local funding source.
The funding would help maintain services and stabilize the system, which is facing “structural shortfalls in the tens of millions [of dollars] annually,” a spokesperson for Hennepin Healthcare said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
“We anticipate that proposal will be formally introduced as a bill [the week of April 6],” the spokesperson said. “If a legislative solution to our structural funding gaps is not realized in this session, the hospital board has signaled the next step would be developing a plan for closure.”
The system cut 100 inpatient beds in early February, reducing its total bed capacity to 390, in an effort to save at least $50 million in the first quarter.
Hennepin has taken “several actions” toward its first-quarter goal, but the spokesperson was unable to confirm whether the system hit the $50 million mark, as “not all cost-saving measures have been fully implemented or realized yet.”
“There is broad consensus that Hennepin Healthcare is a critical statewide asset and that its closure would have life-threatening consequences across the broader health system,” the spokesperson said.
Hennepin Healthcare comprises Hennepin County Medical Center, a level I trauma center, and several primary care clinics, according to its website.
The post Hennepin Healthcare warns of closure without legislative funding appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
Source: Read Original Article
