Massive Healthcare Merger Proposed

HealthPartners and Essentia Health plan a major 22-hospital nonprofit healthcare merger.

HealthPartners and Essentia Health say their boards have approved a proposed combination that would create a nonprofit system of 22 hospitals, more than 135 clinics and about 6,000 clinicians across the Upper Midwest. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2027; the combined organization would use the HealthPartners name, with HealthPartners CEO Andrea Walsh leading it and Essentia CEO David Herman overseeing clinical operations. The organizations say the combination would expand access to care and specialty services, support technology investments and help address rising costs and financial pressures, while patients’ care and coverage would not be interrupted during the transition. The Minnesota Nurses Association called for close scrutiny, raising concerns about patient choice, costs, access and workforce impacts, and questioning the implications of bringing Essentia’s providers into a system that also operates a health insurer.

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