February 15, 2024
Lawmakers are proposing legislation that will protect patients and their families from being denied medical care in hospitals and clinics because of their medical debt.
In a press conference on February 9, Gov. Tim Walz voiced his support of the forthcoming bill, being authored by Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) and Rep. Liz Reyer (DFL-Eagan). The bill, among other things, would:
ban the denial of non-emergency care to patients with substantial unpaid debts;
prevent providers from collecting on patients' tax refunds, or charging them interest for medical debts, or reporting those debts to credit rating agencies;
stop charging for coding errors;
And would appeal transferring debt to a spouse.
The MMA will review the specific bill language when it is released to determine other items that may be included.
The MMA released the following statement on the proposed legislation:
“The Minnesota Medical Association recognizes that medical debt is a serious issue that affects many Minnesotans. Too often, insurance coverage is insufficient and involves often impenetrable rules and processes that pose a barrier to coverage. The MMA looks forward to working with Sen. Boldon and Rep. Reyer to identify ways to ease the impact of medical debt on patients while ensuring that physicians and other providers are appropriately reimbursed for the services they provide.”
August 14, 2025
It was a tumultuous week for healthcare in Minnesota as St. Cloud-based CentraCare announced that it was laying off 535 of its employees, and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to dissolve the Hennepin Healthcare System board, which controls Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in downtown Minneapolis.
August 14, 2025
Along with the insights of best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD, and University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, MD, Empowering Physicians: A Night of Learning & Connection event-goers will have an array of vendors with which to interact.
August 14, 2025
Across Minnesota, physicians and care teams—both formally and informally—are leading efforts to improve clinician well-being. Some hold official wellness titles, while many are simply the “go-to” people in their clinic, department, or system when colleagues need support.