MINNEAPOLIMEDIA EDITORIAL | Part 2 - From Betrayal To Outright Defiance: The County Board’s Push To Seize Control Of Hennepin Healthcare

MINNEAPOLIMEDIA EDITORIAL | Part 2

From Betrayal To Outright Defiance: The County Board’s Push To Seize Control Of Hennepin Healthcare

This is a follow-up to our August 1, 2025 editorial, “A Betrayal of Trust – The Perilous Plan to Undermine Hennepin Healthcare.” That piece can be read in full here: August 1 editorial

On August 1, we warned readers about a troubling resolution from the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners—a plan cloaked in financial rhetoric but rooted in political control. At the time, we called it a betrayal. Today, with the County Board doubling down and ignoring clear calls from legislators, healthcare advocates, and community leaders, we must call it what it has now become: outright defiance of the will of the people.

The communities that depend on Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) have spoken—loudly and repeatedly. Patients, workers, and residents from every corner of Hennepin County and surrounding areas have called for the preservation of the current Hennepin Healthcare Board. This board, with its historic majority-minority composition, has implemented concrete measures to stabilize finances and strengthen transparency. It reflects the diversity of the patients HCMC serves—nearly 75% people of color—and carries the trust of the community.

And yet, the County Board appears unmoved. They intend to dissolve this representative body and replace it with a politically handpicked board, one far easier to influence and far less accountable to the public.

Legislators Tried to Safeguard Against This

During the 2024 session, SF 5507/HF 5442 was introduced to modernize and strengthen accountability within the Hennepin Healthcare System governance framework. The bill—led by the late Senator Kari Dziedzic—would have required:

• A formal investigation and public notice before dissolving the board
• Clear statutory definitions of malfeasance
• Minnesota Department of Health review of public health impacts
• Protections for continuity of care, contracts, and accreditation

These safeguards were designed to prevent exactly what the County Board is now doing—rushing to dismantle a functioning, representative board without due process, transparency, or meaningful public engagement.

Powerful legislators, including Sen. John Hoffman, Rep. Esther Agbaje, and Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, have formally urged the Board to slow down, consult with the Legislature, and prioritize community voice. Yet the Board presses forward, undeterred and unrepentant.

A Precedent Too Dangerous to Ignore

Make no mistake: this is not just about HCMC. If the County Board succeeds here, it sets a precedent that any independent, community-led governance structure—no matter how effective or representative—can be dismantled when it becomes politically inconvenient.

This is how trust in government erodes. This is how public institutions become pawns in political games. This is how communities lose control over the very services that sustain them.

Community Must Respond—Now

We said it on August 1, and we will say it again: the current board is not the problem; it is part of the solution. Removing it will deepen community distrust, destabilize hospital operations, and jeopardize care for the most vulnerable residents in our region.

The August 5 public hearing and the August 12 vote are the community’s last, best opportunities to stop this. Residents must attend, speak out, and let the commissioners know that the people of Hennepin County—and the communities beyond its borders that rely on HCMC—will not stand for this power grab.

This is more than a policy fight. It’s a fight for representation, for the integrity of our public institutions, and for the health and well-being of tens of thousands of Minnesotans.

The Board has a choice: honor the communities they serve, or set a precedent that will damage public healthcare governance for decades to come.

Our message remains clear: Delay this vote. Work with the current board. Protect HCMC. Anything less is not leadership—it’s a direct assault on the democratic values Minnesota claims to hold dear.

MinneapoliMedia