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The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners will vote Tuesday on a resolution to take over management of HCMC, as the county hospital faces a budget shortfall.
According to county and hospital officials, the county’s safety-net hospital system — including HCMC in Minneapolis — has seen an operating loss for seven of the past eight years. Hospital and county officials have said the hospital risks closure this year, or could face steep cuts to staff and programs.
That’s prompted Hennepin County commissioners to consider dissolving the Hennepin Healthcare Services board of directors, which currently oversees the hospital. If commissioners pass the resolution Tuesday, they will take over the board’s oversight and budgeting duties.
At a meeting last week, several commissioners said they plan to support the resolution. Commissioner Irene Fernando said she wanted to give commissioners a chance to balance HCMC’s budget.
“In service to the continued operations for the hospital, I think the county should have a chance to review this data. We should have a chance to dig in and consider if we might have different solutions to provide,” Fernando said.
Several commissioners said the move was not a reflection on the work of the current Hennepin Healthcare board members.
Board members have fought the proposal. Chair Mohamed Omar said the hospital’s financial trouble comes from rising costs and decreasing income from insurance providers — not from any mismanagement by the current leaders. HCMC treats everyone, regardless of ability to pay — including a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured
Omar said he’s skeptical that commissioners will be able to come up with a better plan for the hospital’s financial problems.
“They don’t want to raise taxes. They also do not want to do cuts,” Omar said. “What is, then, the solution?”
Omar also said the Hennepin Healthcare board is an important source of community input. He said the board is about two-thirds people of color, close to the demographics served by HCMC.
Several state legislators representing the county also say they’re concerned. Eight officials sent a letter to Hennepin County commissioners last week urging them to hear more public input before voting.
“We believe that the timeline for this governance restructuring is being rushed and lacks sufficient public transparency, legislative consultation, and procedural safeguards,” the legislators wrote.
Unions at the hospital are welcoming the potential restructuring. They have asked county commissioners to dissolve the board in the past, saying the board hasn’t done enough to address workplace concerns and financial issues.
Shane Hallow is the president of the Hennepin County Association of Paramedics and EMTs, one of the unions representing hospital employees.
“It is an opportunity to right the ship — correct the leadership of the organization and how that leadership is held accountable, and then put in place a structure that works for the future,” Hallow said.
Hallow said he thinks there are more chances to hold commissioners accountable, because they are elected officials. Hennepin Healthcare Services board members apply to the board and are then appointed by commissioners.
The county commissioners will need a two-thirds majority — five out of their seven votes — to pass the measure. At last week’s meeting, five commissioners said they intended to support dissolving the board in this week’s vote.
If they vote to dissolve the board, commissioners could reappoint it in the future.
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