September 5, 2024
A Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) analysis of healthcare workforce data released on September 3 shows hospitals and health systems are replenishing their staff in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, physician numbers remain concerning.
The data comes from a months-long survey of human resources at most Minnesota hospitals, health systems, clinics, and other facility settings. It shows job vacancies among nurses declined notably in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. Separations and vacancies among nursing staff had grown rapidly as the state grappled with COVID-19 starting in 2020.
Overall, the number of working nurses also grew for the fifth straight year – although barely two in five registered nurses are choosing to work full time, and the proportion of nurses working full time (defined as over 32 hours a week) has hit an all-time low.
Data shows more than one in seven primary care physicians in Minnesota will reach retirement age in the next five years. For specialty physicians, the number is nearly one in five. A new national survey just found that more than 60% of physicians are considering retirement, finding a new job or changing careers, citing growing workloads.
MMA President Laurel Ries, MD, discussed the physician workforce with MPR’s Cathy Wurzer on September 3.
Greater Minnesota also continues to experience heightened workforce challenges. Physician employment grew in the Twin Cities, but fell in greater Minnesota. Also, providers outside the Twin Cities saw a 22% increase in nurse departures last year, compared to 2023.
Other findings in the data, which includes both MHA and government statistics include:
Average pay for registered nurses (RNs) in Minnesota hit nearly $95,000 in 2023, up by 6.7% from 2022, according to federal data. That was the biggest increase in more than a decade.
From 2022 to 2023, RN licensees grew 9.3% and have increased by 17.6% over the past five years.
Workforce diversity continues to improve, up by a full percentage point, to 13.4%, among nurses. The proportion is approaching 15% overall for hospital workforces.
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) continue to upgrade within the health care field with an average of 3.8% of LPNs and 4.6% of CNAs getting their RN license annually over the last three years.
Workforce issues are of critical importance to healthcare in Minnesota. Declining birth rates, an aging population, rising retirements, and falling net migration have had historic impacts on the state’s healthcare workforce.
According to the Minnesota Business Partnership, labor participation fell by 7% between 2001 and 2022, a reduction of 325,000 workers in the state – almost the equivalent of the entire direct care healthcare workforce in 2023.
This year’s MHA Workforce Report has some bright spots and shows that strategies like flexible schedules and pay increases can help declines in the workforce. Healthjob.org reported in August that Minnesota nurses had the highest pay of any state in the U.S., adjusted for the cost of living. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul made it separately into the Healthjob.org top 10 ranking of U.S. cities.
July 16, 2025
On July 8, the MMA submitted a formal comment in opposition to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule that would dramatically restrict states’ ability to impose Medicaid provider taxes on insurance companies.
July 16, 2025
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison met with the MMA Board of Trustees at its July 14 meeting and offered to regularly engage with the group to discuss the state’s healthcare issues.
July 16, 2025
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning its registrants of new fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate DEA personnel and notify them that they are under investigation, presumably to obtain personal information.