AG Ellison clears Sanford Health-North Memorial merger after oversight agreement
By KSTP
AG Ellison clears Sanford Health-North Memorial merger after oversight agreement
Minnesota will allow Sanford Health’s merger with North Memorial to move forward after they agreed to a 10-year oversight agreement, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Friday morning.
Minnesota will allow Sanford Health’s merger with North Memorial to move forward after they agreed to a 10-year oversight agreement, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Friday morning
Ellison’s office said the agreement secures commitments to keep core services at Robbinsdale Hospital, including its Level 1 trauma center, for 10 years. The agreement also requires $600 million in investment across Robbinsdale and Maple Grove hospitals
The announcement clears the way for the South Dakota-based Sanford Health to complete its merger with North Memorial, allowing the health system to finally enter the Twin Cities market three years after a proposed acquisition of Allina Health was called off
The Sanford-North Memorial deal was first announced back in May
In the Sanford-Allina proposal, Ellison pushed back and called for the process to be slowed down. It ultimately fell apart
Allina is now on the verge of being acquired by California-based Sutter Health, a deal that Ellison’s office has yet to approve
What they’re saying
Trevor Sawallish, CEO of North Memorial Health: “North Memorial Health has listened closely throughout this process to our patients, team members, physicians, and communities. What we heard was clear: protect the care people depend on, support the people who provide it, and make the investments needed to keep healthcare strong in Minnesota. These commitments give us a clear path forward. We can protect what matters most today while investing in Robbinsdale, expanding Maple Grove, and building a stronger future for the communities we are here to serve.”
Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health: “We appreciate the Attorney General’s Office’s thoughtful engagement and thorough review of our partnership and the opportunity to hear from patients, employees, community leaders, healthcare stakeholders and elected officials across Minnesota.”
Attorney General Ellison: “Nothing is more basic to helping Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect than access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. In obtaining these public interest commitments for the proposed merger between Sanford Health and North Memorial Health, we have a ground-breaking agreement to protect Minnesotans. The commitments and expressions of strong intent that Sanford Health and North Memorial Health have made to make significant investments in facilities and people and maintain key services in Minnesota — and their willingness to be held accountable to those commitments in an oversight agreement for 10 years — are in the public interest. I am also gratified that during this period of damaging federal healthcare cuts, the agreement addresses the distress affecting the hospitals and clinics that serve rural Minnesota. While healthcare system mergers can all too often result in higher costs, fewer jobs, and less care, today’s agreement shows that Minnesota’s healthcare entity transactions law is a powerful tool for ensuring that major healthcare transactions in Minnesota serve Minnesotans’ interest.
“I thank Sanford Health and North Memorial Health for working toward a positive resolution for Minnesotans. I thank the public and community coalitions for engaging in this process, raising their concerns, and lifting up the community benefits they want Minnesotans to enjoy. I thank the staff of my Office for working so diligently and so quickly to bring about this agreement. And I thank Minnesotans for speaking up and sharing their fears and hopes with us. I am hopeful that this combined entity of Sanford and North Memorial will be a significant new force for public health and the public good in Minnesota’s unrivaled, world-class healthcare ecosystem.”
