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Minnesota lawmakers assessing rescue plan for HCMC
Lawmakers are racing against the clock to find a solution to support Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) before the legislative session ends. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Lawmakers are racing against the clock to find a solution to support Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) before the legislative session ends.
House and Senate proposals for HCMC funding
What we know:
The Minnesota House and Senate chambers have put forward very different ideas to help HCMC, Minnesota’s busiest trauma center. The House is now moving closer to the Senate’s plan, but a deal is not final yet.
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HCMC funding problem running out of time
Minnesota lawmakers have 12 days left in the legislative session to decide on a potential rescue plan for the state’s largest hospital. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard has what you should know.
The House proposal would increase the Target Field sales tax from 0.15% to 0.75%, which is a bit less than what was previously suggested. The plan also adds $300 million in state funding to help stabilize hospitals, with half going to HCMC and the rest to other hospitals across Minnesota.
"We have been looking kind of under every stone, right, of where we could find funding to support HCMC and blending them together," Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL-Minneapolis) said in a committee hearing.
"40% of the trauma and burn issues come from outside of Hennepin County. And yet what we had is Hennepin County property taxpayers subsidizing this asset for the whole state to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year," Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Minneapolis) said.
Big picture view:
The hospital has been losing more than $100 million a year in uncompensated care and could lose another $1.7 billion over the next decade because of Medicaid cuts in the federal budget.
The House rescue plan has support from both parties, but some Republicans want to use money set aside for the Blue Line light rail extension instead. The House has already dropped its earlier idea of a 1% sales tax.
"We need to get creative in the last few days of session because that's not going to happen. The 1% is — we don't have the votes for that," Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston) said.
The 0.75% sales tax would bring in about $250 million a year, with some of that money going to Target Field renovations and the rest to HCMC and other hospitals.
The Senate’s plan would raise less money through sales tax, leaving Hennepin County property owners to pay more.
The backstory:
HCMC serves as a safety net hospital for the state, handling a large share of trauma and burn cases from outside Hennepin County.
The hospital’s financial struggles have put the spotlight on how it is funded and who should pay for its services.
Negotiations are still ongoing between the House, Senate and the governor’s office as the deadline approaches.