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Resources for State Legislators

Find key terms, fact sheets, data reports, and more resources below to learn about important issues affecting health care in Minnesota. 

For an overview of Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems, review Hospitals 101: A Primer on Minnesota’s Hospitals and Health Systems

About Minnesota's Hospitals and Health Systems

Graphic from MHA's Community Benefit Report
Graphic from MHA's Community Benefit Report

Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems contributed $3.4 billion in programs and services in 2021 to benefit the health of their communities. This, despite the ongoing challenges the global pandemic presented for patients, communities, hospital and health system staff, and their families.  Learn more in MHA’s Community Benefit Report.

Aitkin County

  • Riverwood Healthcare Center
    Riverwood Healthcare CenterRiverwood Healthcare Center

Anoka County

  • Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center
  • Mercy Hospital

Becker County

  • Essentia Health St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes

Beltrami County

  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Bemidji
  • Red Lake IHS Hospital
  • Sanford Bemidji Medical Center

Big Stone County

  • Essentia Health-Graceville
  • Ortonville Area Health Services

Blue Earth County

  • Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato

Brown County

  • New Ulm Medical Center
  • Sleepy Eye Medical Center

Carlton County

  • Community Memorial Hospital
  • Essentia Health-Moose Lake

Carver County

  • Ridgeview Medical Center

Cass County

  • U.S. PHS Indian Hospital – Cass Lake

Chippewa County

  • CCM Health

Chisago County

  • M Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center

Clearwater County

  • Sanford Bagley Medical Center

Cook County

  • North Shore Health

Cottonwood County

  • Sanford Westbrook Medical Center
  • Windom Area Health

Crow Wing County

  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Baxter
  • Cuyuna Regional Medical Center
  • Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center

Dakota County

  • M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital
  • Northfield Hospital & Clinics

Douglas County

  • Alomere Health
  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Alexandria

Faribault County

  • United Hospital District

Freeborn County

  • Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin (Albert Lea)

Goodhue County

  • Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls
  • Mayo Clinic Health System in Lake City
  • Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing

Grant County

  • Prairie Ridge Healthcare

Hennepin County

  • Abbott Northwestern Hospital
  • Hennepin County Medical Center
  • M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital
  • M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center
  • Maple Grove Hospital
  • Minneapolis VA Health Care System
  • North Memorial Health Hospital
  • Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital
  • PrairieCare Brooklyn Park

Hubbard County

  • CHI St. Joseph’s Health

Isanti County

  • Cambridge Medical Center

Itasca County

  • Bigfork Valley Hospital
  • Essentia Health-Deer River
  • Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital

Jackson County

  • Sanford Jackson Medical Center

Kanabec County

  • Welia Health

Kandiyohi County

  • CentraCare – Rice Memorial Hospital
  • Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Services

Kittson County

  • Kittson Healthcare

Koochiching County

  • Rainy Lake Medical Center

Lac Qui Parle County

  • Johnson Memorial Health Services
  • Madison Healthcare Services

Lake County

  • Lake View Hospital

Lake of The Woods County

  • CHI LakeWood Health

Le Sueur County

  • Ridgeview Le Sueur Medical Center

Lincoln County

  • Avera Tyler
  • Hendricks Community Hospital Association

Lyon County

  • Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center
  • Sanford Tracy Medical Center

Mahnomen County

  • Mahnomen Health Center

Marshall County

  • North Valley Health Center

Martin County

  • Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont

McLeod County

  • Glencoe Regional Health
  • Hutchinson Health

Meeker County

  • Meeker Memorial Hospital & Clinics

Mille Lacs County

  • Mille Lacs Health System

Morrison County

  • CHI St. Gabriel’s Health

Murray County

  • Murray County Medical Center

Nicollet County

  • River’s Edge Hospital & Clinic

Nobles County

  • Sanford Worthington Medical Center

Norman County

  • Essentia Health-Ada

Olmsted County

  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Rochester
  • Mayo Clinic Hospital – Rochester
  • Olmsted Medical Center

Otter Tail County

  • Astera Health
  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Fergus Falls
  • Perham Health

Pennington County

  • Sanford Behavioral Health Center
  • Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center

Pine County

  • Essentia Health-Sandstone

Pipestone County

  • Pipestone County Medical Center

Polk County

  • Essentia Health-Fosston
  • RiverView Health

Pope County

  • Glacial Ridge Health System

Ramsey County

  • Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare
  • M Health Fairview Bethesda Hospital
  • M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital
  • Regions Hospital
  • United Hospital

Redwood County

  • CentraCare – Redwood

Renville County

  • HealthPartners Olivia Hospital & Clinic

Rice County

  • Allina Health Faribault Medical Center

Rock County

  • Sanford Luverne Medical Center

Roseau County

  • LifeCare Medical Center

Scott County

  • Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague
  • St. Francis Regional Medical Center

Sherburne County

  • M Health Fairview Northland Medical Center

Sibley County

  • Ridgeview Sibley Medical Center

St. Louis County

  • Cook Hospital & Care Center
  • Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital
  • Essentia Health Duluth
  • Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center
  • Essentia Health-Northern Pines
  • Essentia Health-Virginia
  • Fairview Range

Stearns County

  • CentraCare – Melrose
  • CentraCare – Paynesville
  • CentraCare – Sauk Centre
  • CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital
  • St. Cloud VA Health Care System

Steele County

  • Owatonna Hospital

Stevens County

  • Stevens Community Medical Center

Swift County

  • Appleton Area Health
  • CentraCare – Benson

Todd County

  • CentraCare – Long Prairie
  • Lakewood Health System

Traverse County

  • Sanford Wheaton Medical Center

Wabasha County

  • Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Clinics

Waseca County

  • Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Clinics

Washington County

  • Lakeview Hospital
  • Shriners Children’s – Twin Cities
  • Woodwinds Health Campus

Watonwan County

  • Madelia Health
  • Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James

Wilkin County

  • CHI St. Francis Health

Wright County

  • Buffalo Hospital
  • CentraCare – Monticello
  • Community Behavioral Health Hospital – Annandale

Yellow Medicine County

  • Avera Granite Falls
  • Sanford Canby Medical Center
  • Critical Access Hospital (CAH):These are smaller hospitals that have 25 beds or less. Minnesota has 77 critical access hospitals that serve as an important lifeline to Minnesota communities.   
  • “Tweener” Hospital: These are smaller regional hospitals that provide levels of care that are too high to qualify as critical access hospitals. They serve an important role in providing care throughout the state.    
  • Hospital System: These are entities which manage or own multiple hospitals or clinics.   
  • Medicaid/Medial Assistance: Medicaid is a federal program that provides coverage for people very low income. In Minnesota the program goes by the name Medical Assistance or MA. The program is funded with both state and federal dollar.   
  • MinnesotaCare: This program, established in 1992, provides health care coverage for working Minnesotans who make too much to qualify for Medical Assistance. This program is paid for by taxes on health care provides, as well as state and federal dollars.   
  • Medicare: This program provides care for primarily those over 65 or with a disability.    
  • Managed Care Organizations: In Minnesota, not-for-profit health plans have formed networks of providers and offer some level of care management to control access, costs and quality. Some examples of such organizations include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners, and Medica. The plans typically negotiate rates with hospitals based on a prospective-fee-for-service basis.   
  • Charity Care: Not-for-profit and government-owned hospitals all have financial assistance programs or charity care as a part of their mission. Patients who have no health care coverage may qualify for a hospital’s charity care policy by completing some basic paperwork, though it is not always a requirement. People without health insurance often end up in the hospital emergency department because they have limited access to clinics and they often wait until an acute need arises before accessing the health care system. 
  • Bad Debt: Bad debts are typically payments that hospitals expected to collect from patients, but were not paid. Hospitals are often left with unpaid bills from patients who don’t respond to follow-up invoices and offers for financial assistance. Financial assistance from hospital policies include 100% billing write-offs for patients below $200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Minnesota’s hospitals also work to enroll eligible patients in medical assistance programs and connect them with organizations to help resolve their medical debts.  
  • Uncompensated Care: Uncompensated care is the combination of charity care and bad debt. In 2021 Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems contributed almost $655 million in uncompensated care. 
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