HealthPartners and Essentia Health announce plans to merge

Another proposed health care merger is poised to further reshape Minnesota’s health care industry.

Bloomington-based HealthPartners and Duluth-based Essentia Health announced Tuesday that their respective boards of directors have approved a merger plan.

If approved by regulators, the merger of the two nonprofit health systems is expected to be completed by early next year. The new organization would take the name HealthPartners and have about 45,000 employees in dozens of hospitals and clinics across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. It would be one of the largest health systems in the region.

“This combination is about doing more for the people and communities who rely on us,” Andrea Walsh, president and CEO of HealthPartners, said in a statement announcing the merger.

“HealthPartners and Essentia Health share the belief that everyone deserves access to high-quality care and coverage, close to home and focused on their needs,” Walsh said. “Together, we can leverage the strengths of both organizations to improve health, expand access and create a stronger future for the communities we serve.” »

Dr. David Herman, CEO of Essentia Health, said the two organizations “share similar missions and values, deep roots in this region and a focus on improving health and well-being.”

“As a combined nonprofit health system, we will be able to better innovate and grow our workforce. This strong foundation will make us even better partners for our patients, working together to help people live their healthiest lives, no matter where they live,” Herman said in a statement.

This is the third major proposed merger involving Minnesota health systems in 2026.

North Memorial Health and South Dakota-based Sanford Health completed a merger earlier this year.

And a proposed merger of Allina Health and California-based Sutter Health is still under review by state regulators.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, Walsh and Herman said the merger was necessary to address challenges facing the health care industry as a whole, including rising health care costs and health insurance premiums, declining reimbursements and workforce shortages.

“What we believe is that HealthPartners and Essentia come together, that we can combine our complementary strengths to improve the affordability and quality of healthcare experiences, and to navigate some of the industry trends that are challenging not only in Minnesota but across the country,” Walsh said.

“This is what other health systems are discovering: When you have complementary capabilities, you are stronger together,” Herman said.

Herman described the proposed merger as having the two systems lead to, rather than react to, a health care environment that he called “dynamic” and even “chaotic.”

“We know that while we are strong, our patients, our communities and our colleagues depend on us. And coming together when we are strong, working on the things that we know are important – like access, affordability, getting the best care and health wherever you choose to live – are the things that are important,” he said.

HealthPartners and Essentia Health said Tuesday they have “complementary strengths in care delivery, health plan coverage, urban and rural community health, research, medical education and innovation.”

They said the merger would give patients access to more medical expertise and specialists and provide employees with more career prospects within the organization.

Walsh would lead the combined organization, with Herman serving as president of operations for the combined clinical care group.

HealthPartners and Essentia said their patients and members should not see any changes or interruptions to health care or insurance coverage. Walsh and Herman said there are no plans to close any clinics or hospitals.

For now, Essentia Health locations will retain this brand. Herman said the plan is to convert them to the HealthPartners name at some point in the future, once the two systems are fully combined.

The Minnesota Nurses Association issued a statement saying it had “serious concerns” about the proposed merger – with the union also saying its members who are employed by both health systems were not given advance notice of the proposal before Tuesday’s public announcement.

“Minnesota has now seen three major health care consolidation announcements in a row, and nurses are deeply concerned about what this could mean for our patients and communities,” MNA President Chris Rubesch, a registered nurse at Essentia Health, said in a statement. “Whenever control of health care is concentrated in a few hands, we need to understand what patients and communities stand to gain, what they might lose, and who will be responsible for those outcomes. »

In a statement following the merger announcement Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office would collect public comment on the proposed merger as it reviews the proposal.

“The proposed health care consolidation requires careful consideration,” Ellison said in a press release. “As we have done repeatedly, we will conduct a thorough review of this potential acquisition to ensure it complies with the law and is in the public interest.”

HealthPartners operates nine hospitals, including St. Paul Regional Hospital, as well as dozens of clinics. It also offers health and dental insurance plans covering more than 1.5 million people.

Essentia Health operates 14 hospitals and dozens of clinics in central and northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

In 2025, Essentia Health was part of a proposed health system alliance involving Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota – but that proposal did not come to fruition.

In 2022, Essentia had also explored a possible merger with Wisconsin’s Marshfield Clinic Health System, but later ended those discussions. Marshfield later merged with Sanford Health.