HealthPartners and Essentia Health Agree to Merge

October 1, 2026

On September 29, HealthPartners and Essentia Health announced that their boards of directors have approved an affiliation agreement to combine their organizations.  

The combined organization would  take the HealthPartners name. Current HealthPartners President and CEO Andrea Walsh will lead the new organization. David Herman, MD, who has been CEO of Essentia Health since 2015, will serve as president of combined clinical care group operations. Essentia facilities will retain the Essentia Health name while operations are integrated. 

The combined organization will include 22 hospitals, more than 135 clinics and 6,000 clinicians, creating one of the region's largest nonprofit health systems. 

Both organizations have been consistently recognized as top performing health systems for quality by Minnesota Community Measurement and have earned national recognition for excellence in quality, patient experience, innovation, and clinical performance. 

Together, the organizations will expand investments in digital health, research, data analytics, and workforce development. Essentia's research and education programs provide more than 500,000 hours of training each year for future healthcare professionals. HealthPartners trains more than 600 residents and fellows annually, and brings research to patients and community members through hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. 

Pending customary regulatory approvals, the organizations anticipate the combination will take effect on January 1, 2027. For more information, visit healthpartners-essentiahealth.com. 

On October 1, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee met to discuss healthcare mergers and consolidation in Minnesota, including the HealthPartners and Essentia Health agreement.  

Assistant Attorney General Erin Conti provided an update on the implementation of Minnesota’s healthcare transaction review law, while Stefan Gildemeister, state health economist with the Minnesota Department of Health, discussed the effects of healthcare market consolidation and potential opportunities for additional state oversight. The committee also heard from experts and community members about the impacts and concerns associated with healthcare mergers. 

Discussion also focused on the financial pressures facing hospitals and health systems, including the anticipated effects of the federal reconciliation law (H.R. 1). Reductions in Medicaid and individual-market enrollment, including changes expected to take effect next year, could increase the number of uninsured Minnesotans and place additional financial strain on health systems.  

The discussion comes as Minnesota continues to see significant healthcare consolidation, including proposed combinations involving Sutter Health and Allina Health, as well as the merger between HealthPartners and Essentia Health, and Sanford Health’s acquisition of North Memorial Health. The recorded committee hearing can be found here.