Lawmakers Pass Bill Regulating Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions

May 25, 2023

On May 21, the Legislature passed new authority for the Minnesota Attorney General (AG) to address concerns with over-consolidation in healthcare  (HF 402, Bierman, DFL – Apple Valley). 

The legislation provides additional AG oversight of healthcare mergers and transactions involving entities with an average annual revenue of $80 million. The entities are required to provide detailed information at least 60 days prior to the final action. If the AG believes a transaction will result in over-consolidation that will harm the public good, the AG can petition the courts to stop the transaction. Furthermore, it requires all transactions in which the healthcare entity has an average annual revenue between $10 million and $80 million to submit a limited amount of data to the Department of Health for analysis purposes. 

This legislation started in the wake of the proposed merger between the Sanford and Fairview health systems. The bill includes language prohibiting out-of-state entities from owning in whole or in part any University of Minnesota healthcare entities, including the University of Minnesota Medical School. It is unclear what impact this may have on the Sanford-Fairview merger discussions. 

Gov. Tim Walz noted in a press event on May 21 that there’s potential for a special session this summer to address the University of Minnesota’s request to purchase the medical facilities, including M Health Fairview University, the Masonic Children’s Hospital, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. “There is going to be more talk on the medical school,” Walz said. “There may need to be some work once we have a little more of a vision and plan for where this goes.”