Hennepin Healthcare is Minnesota's largest public, safety-net healthcare system in Minnesota serving the highest percentage of patients who depend on Medicaid and public programs to pay for their care. Potential reductions to federal funding that would significantly affect coverage have providers, patients, advocacy groups and others worried about the impact.
"We are counting on everyone to do the right thing, but we also know how important it is for our voices to be heard," explains Hennepin Healthcare patient Linda Fess, a classically trained musician and teaching artist. "I feel strongly about this issue, especially because I am still alive due to the interventions Medicaid afforded me."
Active community member, avid sports fan and former basketball referee Joel Williams puts his own spin on the prospect of losing Medicaid coverage: "Without it there would be no me – and I'm not ready to sit down. So many people here at HCMC rely on it and appreciate the great care they get here. We can't let it go away without a fight. And I'm a fighter – I don't give up."
Fess and Williams will join in a conversation with Representatives Omar and Morrison, along with Hennepin Healthcare team members and Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando and others to discuss their concerns, and then the group will join a news conference to share what came up during their conversations and answer questions at 11:30 a.m.
When: 11:30 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 20, 2025
Where: Hennepin Healthcare's Clinic & Specialty Center | Stillman Conference Room – First Floor | 715 S. 8th St. Mpls., MN
Underground parking is available beneath the building – ramp entrance is located at 821 S. Park Ave., then take the elevator to the first floor and Stillman Room.
Who:
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Rep. Kelly Morrison
Irene Fernando, Chair, Hennepin County Board
Jennifer DeCubellis, CEO, Hennepin Healthcare
Mohamed Omar, Chair, Hennepin Healthcare Board of Directors
Joel Williams, Hennepin Healthcare patient
Linda Fess, Hennepin Healthcare patient
Dr. Tom Wyatt, Chair of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare
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About Hennepin Healthcare
Hennepin Healthcare is an integrated system of care that includes HCMC, a nationally recognized Level I Adult Trauma Center and Level I Pediatric Trauma Center and acute care hospital, as well as a clinic system with primary care clinics located in Minneapolis and across Hennepin County. The comprehensive safety net healthcare system includes a 484-bed academic medical center, a large outpatient Clinic & Specialty Center, and a network of clinics in the North Loop, Whittier, and East Lake Street neighborhoods of Minneapolis, and in the suburban communities of Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, Richfield, and St. Anthony Village. Hennepin Healthcare has a large psychiatric program, home care, and operates a research institute, philanthropic foundation, and Hennepin EMS. The system is operated by Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., a subsidiary corporation of Hennepin County.
