April 3, 2025
On April 1, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard a bill that would allocate state funds to the Treat Yourself First campaign to raise awareness about healthcare worker burnout and reduce stigma surrounding physicians getting mental health treatment.
“Rates of burnout among healthcare workers have reached crisis level,” said Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) while presenting SF 831. “Survey results indicate that 20% of physicians say they are depressed, but only 15% of physicians have sought professional help, largely due to the stigma among healthcare workers about getting mental health treatment.”
Boldon went on to argue the burnout crisis has serious healthcare workforce implications, saying that “if healthcare worker burnout isn't addressed, Minnesota won't have any healthcare workers left, especially in our rural and traditionally underserved communities.”
Michelle Chestovich, MD, testified in favor of the bill, on behalf of the MMA. “Nearly six in 10 physicians have reported symptoms of burnout, including severe anger, tearfulness, or anxiety, at work,” Chestovich said. “One-third have felt hopeless that they have no purpose. And more than half know a physician who has considered, attempted, or died by suicide.” Chestovich experienced the loss of her sister, Gretchen Butler, MD, to suicide in 2021. Butler was a radiologist at Hennepin Healthcare.
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Michelle Chestovich, MD, testifies in support of SF 831, an MMA priority bill to address healthcare worker burnout. |
SF 831 was laid over for future inclusion in an omnibus bill. The House companion, HF 1656 (Reyer, DFL – Eagan), has not received a committee hearing.
The Treat Yourself First coalition includes the MMA, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, Minnesota Academy of Physician Associates, Minnesota APRN Coalition, Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Minnesota Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Minnesota Chapter of the American College of Physicians, Minnesota Dental Association, Minnesota Nurse Practitioners, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Pharmacists Association, and the Minnesota Psychiatric Society.
To learn more, visit www.treatyourselffirst.org.
May 29, 2025
As the Legislature works to complete its work on the state’s two-year budget, another deadline is looming. Legislators are required to pass a balanced budget before the end of the fiscal year—June 30, 2025. If they don’t meet that deadline, the state will begin a partial shutdown.
May 29, 2025
Registration has opened for the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Reflection and Engagement event, featuring best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD.
May 29, 2025
The AMA is encouraging physicians to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to revise the reconciliation bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives. While the bill includes language that would stabilize Medicare physician payments, it also threatens to cripple Medicaid and CHIP.