Legislative Session Starts; MMA to Focus on 5 Major Issues
February 19, 2026
State lawmakers returned to St. Paul on February 17 for the second half of the 2025-2026 biennium.
January 30, 2026
In an effort to balance its budget, Hennepin Healthcare officials announced on January 26 that they have decided to cut 100 positions.
Hennepin will close or integrate some stand-alone clinics and services including:
Integrative health: Chiropractic and acupuncture services and refer patients to external providers.
Senior and extended care: Older adult patients will be seen in primary care, and nursing home services will be transitioned to other systems.
Sleep services: This clinic will be closed, but will continue to do screening tests through primary care.
Interventional pain: Medical treatments will move to primary care, and other interventional services will be referred to external providers.
Weight management: Medical and surgical services will be reduced and integrated into the Clinic and Specialty Center instead of operating as a stand-alone clinic.
February 19, 2026
State lawmakers returned to St. Paul on February 17 for the second half of the 2025-2026 biennium.
February 19, 2026
On the second day of the legislative session, MMA leadership was already advocating for one of its top priorities - minimizing the harm of federal changes to Medical Assistance (MA).
February 19, 2026
Legislation to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in prior authorization requirements was heard in the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee on February 19.