Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) is considering the proposed mergers between healthcare systems Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System and between health systems Aspirus Health and St. Luke’s Duluth.
Duluth, MN-based Essentia operates six skilled nursing facilities as well as six senior living communities across Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, among other types of facilities. The Marshfield, WI-based Marshfield system includes independent living apartments, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and transitional nursing care, among other types of facilities.
Wausau, WI-based Aspirus Health’s properties include nursing homes and home health and hospice providers, as well as pharmacies, critical care and air-medical transport providers, in Upper Michigan and central and northern Wisconsin.
The proposed mergers are subject to new reporting requirements for certain healthcare entity transactions signed into law in May by Gov. Tim Walz (D). Under state law, the attorney general is the chief civil regulator of charities and nonprofits in Minnesota and has authority to enforce state and federal antitrust laws.
“Every Minnesotan deserves high-quality healthcare that they can afford, access and depend on, and every Minnesotan deserves the opportunity to provide input on healthcare transactions that affect them,” Ellison said Tuesday in a statement. “As I review these mergers to ensure they comply with state and federal law, I want to hear from the public, because Minnesotans’ thoughts and concerns are an essential part of our review.”
According to the attorney general’s office, “the public’s input will also help determine opportunities for public policy or regulatory improvements.” Ellison has scheduled an Oct. 25 meeting at which the public can provide input.
The Essentia and Marshfield systems signed a letter of intent in July to merge the two companies. St. Luke’s and Aspirus also announced in July that they had signed a letter of intent to merge their systems.
