Minnesota hospitals brace for potential cuts after Senate passes Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
President Trump's massive tax and spending plan is a step closer to his desk after the U.S. Senate narrowly approved its version of the bill Tuesday morning.
In response, protesters rallied outside the state health department in St. Paul. They demonstrated against what could be more than $1 trillion in cuts to programs like Medicaid.
At Hennepin Healthcare, nearly 100,000 people use that insurance option.
"I am kind of shocked to be honest," Joel Williams, a Medicaid user, said.
Williams served as a Chicago police officer for 25 years. He is now disabled with severe asthma, is a kidney transplant recipient and he depends on Medicaid and Medicare.
When asked if he was scared about cuts, Williams said, "Definitely. This is major, this is major major. I never thought after years of working... It's unbelievable to me. I'm trying to grasp it."
Interim Hennepin Healthcare CEO Dr. Thomas Klemond is also scared.
"We are looking at 100 million or more potential losses," Klemond said. "These are projections and the bills are still evolving. We are looking at, can we keep doing what we are doing?"
Klemond says as Minnesota's largest safety net hospital, they will continue to treat everyone regardless of ability to pay. He adds that as people lose insurance, emergency room visits will soar. That means other hospital programs could be eyed for cuts, Klemond said.
"Can we continue doing all of the things we are doing? Can we continue doing most of the things we are doing? Can we survive?" Klemond said.
At Hennepin Healthcare and at hospitals around the state and country, this latest vote just raises the level of uncertainty over how they are going to be able to care for patients in the future.
Klemond says he expects to start losing Medicaid reimbursements as soon as January 2026 in Minneapolis.
There are concerns that some hospitals in small communities will close down altogether. The major health provider for rural Minnesota says they're still processing what is in the bill.
