Almost everyone agrees that Hennepin Healthcare’s downtown Minneapolis hospital, HCMC, is the state’s premier level-one trauma center.
“If you get a major burn, you want to go to HCMC,” said House Tax Committee C-Chair Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis. “If you get shot by a gun, you want to go to HCMC.”
RELATED: Future of Hennepin Healthcare, HCMC unknown amid $36M deficit
It’s the hospital where victims of the Annunciation Church and School shooting were taken last August. “It operates the busiest emergency departments in Minnesota with over 100,000 visits annually,” said Michelle Benson of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “Its patient population is more than 75% publicly insured or uninsured.”
RELATED: Hennepin Healthcare gives update on Annunciation Church shooting victims
HCMC’s financial health is on life support largely due to the massive burden of “uncompensated care” for patients with no insurance. The cost of that care for HCMC totaled $90 million in 2024, the most recent figure available, which was 40% higher than in 2023. It represented 20% of all uncompensated care in Minnesota in 2024.
“Hennepin Health care is facing significant financial challenges today,” testified Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley.
RELATED: Hennepin County Commissioners vote to take over management of HCMC
One possible solution is to shift a portion of the Hennepin County sales tax now used to pay off bonds for the Minnesota Twins stadium to help shore up HCMC’s finances. Those bonds are likely to be paid off in 2027, freeing up at least some of those funds.
“The solution is going to come from this committee,” said House Tax Committee Chair Greg Davids. “It’s coming from right here.”
No bill was heard in the tax committee on Wednesday, but the issue is certain to be debated in the House and Senate this year.
“It’s my goal not to have a situation where we put band aids on so you can limp along for a couple more years,” Davids told Hennepin County and Hennepin Healthcare officials. “That’s not what I’m looking at. What I’m looking at is making it so that is making it so that Hennepin, HCMC, North Memorial, cannot (just) survive but thrive.”