Two proposals to transform the future operations of Hennepin County's hospitals and clinics by providing dedicated funding for facilities and overhauling their governance did not make it through the Legislature's chaotic end.
A bill to transition the 0.15% sales tax used to build Target Field to pay for future Hennepin County medical infrastructure was left out of the tax bill approved in the final hours of the session. It was a priority for county leaders because it would help fund $1.5 billion in updates HCMC and other facilities need over the next decade.
County Administrator David Hough said he was thankful legislative leaders gave the plan a lot of debate in the final weeks of the session. He expects the proposal will be back before lawmakers next year.
It would have dedicated about $40 million a year for the next three decades to improvements at HCMC and other county health care facilities. It also earmarked $10 million a year for maintenance at Target Field. In exchange, the Twins would have extended their lease at the ballpark through 2059.
The $355 million the county borrowed to build Target Field is nearly paid off and the tax will sunset without legislative action to repurpose it. The tax equates to about 3 cents on a $20 purchase, and raises more than $50 million annually.
The idea to use the revenue for health care infrastructure and extend the Twins' lease had bipartisan support in both legislative chambers.
To try to move the proposal forward before the session ended, county leaders offered to split the tax proceeds for health care with North Memorial Health Hospital. That won the support of Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, who chairs the Senate Taxes Committee, but there was no agreement with House lawmakers before adjournment.
"I was delighted," Rest said of the county's offer to provide roughly $20 million a year from the repurposed tax to North Memorial. She plans to sponsor a similar bill when lawmakers return to the Capitol in 2025.
In January, the Hennepin County Board abruptly ended a $22 million subsidy to the Robbinsdale hospital, saying they needed to focus on operating HCMC. North Memorial announced job cuts in March amid fiscal pressures.
A last-minute bill that would have made it more difficult for the County Board to take back control of the operation of its medical facilities from Hennepin Healthcare System also was left out of the Legislature's final work.
The proposal came after nurses and other unionized workers at HCMC alleged mismanagement by hospital leaders and called on the County Board to step in. Nurses say hospital officials made costly changes to health insurance and haven't done enough to recruit and retain staff or address safety concerns.
Hospital officials argue the insurance changes were modest and were needed because Hennepin Healthcare had to close a $127 million budget deficit. They've said the struggles at HCMC are happening at hospitals across the nation, and are not reason to change its governance.
County officials have spent months gathering information about Hennepin Healthcare's financial condition and the impact of insurance changes. Commissioners haven't publicly taken a position on calls to take back control of the hospital.
But the discussion unsettled enough state lawmakers to prompt a proposal that would require county leaders to cite specific reasons, conduct an investigation and have future oversight plans before they could get rid of Hennepin Healthcare. The bill was only debated in a House committee and was not considered by the Senate.
