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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | UCare Layoffs Begin in Minneapolis as Medicaid Contract Loss Eliminates About 102 Jobs
The health insurer's layoffs begin October 2 and are expected to continue through November after Medica acquired state contracts previously supported by UCare.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 3, 2026). Layoffs affecting approximately 102 UCare employees have begun in Minneapolis as the health insurer adjusts to the loss of state Medicaid contracts that shifted to Medica.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, layoffs were expected to begin Friday, October 2, and continue through November.
The affected operation is associated with UCare's facility at 600 Stinson Boulevard in Minneapolis, although the state notice says some of the employees work remotely from their homes.
The job losses follow changes in Minnesota's Medicaid contracting structure.
According to the WARN notice, certain state contracts previously held by UCare were acquired by Medica, ending UCare's support for those Medicaid contracts on October 1.
The consequences reach across a broad range of health insurance operations.
Positions identified in the state notice include care coordinators, care managers, customer service employees, health improvement specialists, utilization review specialists, transportation representatives, credentialing personnel, quality-improvement employees and workers involved in social determinants of health.
The employees are not represented by a union, according to the notice, and there are no bumping rights that would allow affected workers to displace employees with less seniority.
Minnesota's Dislocated Worker Program has assigned a State Rapid Response Team specialist to assess the layoffs and coordinate assistance for affected workers.
The timing adds another layer to a period of substantial change in Minnesota's health insurance market, where contract shifts, rising medical costs and changes in public health programs are affecting insurers, patients and workers simultaneously.
For the approximately 102 UCare employees identified in the notice, those broader changes have now become immediate employment consequences.
The layoffs are expected to continue through November.
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