A plea from North Memorial Health to the Legislature - published by a group of physicians in the strib

[question everything]

On the border of north Minneapolis and Robbinsdale, community members and families rely on care and healing provided by North Memorial Health Hospital, Robbinsdale. For over 70 years, it's been more than just a health care facility; it's a place of service for those in need. Yet, behind its steadfast commitment to serve all people lies a silent struggle.

With a rising number of Medicare and Medicaid patients and mounting complexities in the health care environment, tough choices lie ahead. Without assistance, the Robbinsdale hospital anticipates losses of $100 million by 2025.

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The Robbinsdale hospital serves as a "safety net" hospital without the benefit of any official designation that brings additional funding. Without commensurate funding assistance from local cities or counties, our hospital's operations, care teams and patients will be negatively impacted. The core patient population it serves is very similar to other urban hospitals in the region, like nearby Hennepin Healthcare's Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). The only difference is that Hennepin Healthcare receives county assistance. North Memorial Health currently receives none.

Securing local help is crucial to ensure continued service to those in need.

At the same time, we need support at the Legislature (HF 3943/SF 3838), which would allow North Memorial Health to leverage available federal health care dollars.

These dollars, available under the Medicaid Directed Payment program, are designed to help hospitals overburdened with insufficient government reimbursements, like those from Medicare and Medicaid. More than 93 such programs are active at hospitals in 40 states that provide federal dollars; Minnesota has only one approved program.


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I am going to contact my representatives and ask them to approve the bills.