Minnesota health care leaders are warning that the proposed Medicaid funding cuts currently under consideration in the Senate would “exacerbate the unsustainability” already facing the country’s safety-net health systems, straining providers and leaving patients behind.
Recent commentary by two leaders of Hennepin Healthcare System, the largest Medicaid provider system and safety-net trauma hospital in Minnesota, emphasizes Medicaid’s foundational role in helping safety-net hospitals serve all patients regardless of their insurance status.
The piece details how Medicaid cuts would threaten Hennepin Healthcare’s ability to provide critical services to all Minnesotans. More information about what’s at stake is highlighted below:
- “Trauma care for all Minnesotans: Our Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center — with more than 90,000 visits a year — relies on Medicaid for 62% of patient coverage. Across the state, Minnesotans with commercial insurance rely on this infrastructure when minutes matter.”
- “Statewide mental health care: As the only inpatient psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in Minnesota, we remain open even as other providers close due to unsustainable payment models. More than half (51%) of patients we serve for inpatient mental health rely on Medicaid. Without it, critical psychiatric care disappears.”
- “Physician training and access: 60% of doctors in Minnesota trained at Hennepin Healthcare. Medicaid cuts threaten the future of our academic and research programs — leading to fewer doctors in rural communities and a fracturing of the research that shapes the delivery of health care.”
- “Addiction medicine: An estimated 350,000 Minnesotans need substance use treatment but are not receiving it. Our 30-year-old addiction medicine program includes statewide training for providers and sees 400 patients from across the state per day. Medicaid pays for 73% of the care for our patients accessing addiction treatment.”
- “Burn and emergency hyperbaric care: Our regional burn center and 24/7 hyperbaric oxygen services are vital during mass casualty events, carbon monoxide poisonings and more. If lost, patients would need to travel hours for some types of care — at times when every minute counts.”
Minnesota political leaders and health care practitioners are calling on Congress to oppose the Medicaid cuts proposed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) to ensure safety-net hospitals like Hennepin Healthcare can continue to provide patients with the essential health care services they need.
For more information on Medicaid’s vital role, visit https://modernmedicaid.org.