Updated 6/30/11 12:15pm
Will the shutdown affect my hospital, clinic, or nursing home?
The short answer is yes. Our facilities rely heavily on state funding to operate and a government shutdown will likely interfere with payments from the state. Right now, the courts are hearing arguments to keep essential services running even if the state government shuts down, but a final ruling has not yet been made. Stay tuned for more updates as information becomes available. Judge Gearin ruled on June 29th that the State will continue to make Medicaid/MA and MNCare payments to hospitals and nursing homes.
Will I get paid during the shutdown?
We will continue to enforce our collective bargaining agreements during any government shutdown including applicable payday and wage provisions.
I’m a licensed healthcare worker. How will the shutdown affect me?
The Minnesota Board of Nursing and the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice have said that licensed health-care professionals will not be able to renew their licenses during a government shutdown, which would occur July 1 if the governor and Legislature fail to reach a budget agreement by June 30. Therefore, any professionals whose licenses expire during a shutdown – be they nurses, pharmacists, etc. – will then be unable to practice.
Why is the state government facing a shutdown?
The Republican majority in the legislature passed a budget with $1 billion in funding losses for our hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Governor Dayton vetoed that budget, and now the state faces a shutdown. If the Republican budget passed, it would put thousands of our jobs at risk and cut off thousands of Minnesotans from access to basic medical care. Worst of all, it would balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and people with disabilities – which is exactly what these legislators promised not to do. Governor Dayton’s budget proposal asks the richest 2% of Minnesotans to pay more so we can maintain quality healthcare and long-term care. The rest of us would not pay a dime more in taxes.
What can I do to speak out against the shutdown?
Join SEIU and our allies at a Shutdown Eve vigil on Thursday, June 30th from 9pm-11pm on the steps of the Capitol. RSVP here.
Minneapolis – March 9, 2011 – An inaugural member of the Partnership for Quality Care, a national labor-management partnership of health care workers, HealthPartners and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota applaud the report released Wednesday that calls for the health care industry to provide tangible solutions for issues ranging from hospital readmissions to preventable errors in care.
Since the inception of the PQC in 2007, HealthPartners has worked with our SEIU Healthcare Minnesota partners to create innovative approaches to improve patient safety and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and readmissions. One example is our Medication Therapy Management program.
In the MTM program, pharmacists represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, meet one-on-one with patients, examining the medications (both prescribed and over-the-counter) and ensuring that drugs are working the best way possible. Patients working with MTM pharmacists can ensure their combination of drugs are safe, they can feel better because drugs may be in better alignment and they can also save money through the elimination of some drugs or the increased use of generics.
On average, MTM pharmacists – who work at 16 different HealthPartners clinics – make three medicine recommendations to each new patient they see.
The MTM program also provides health benefits to members. In the initial pilot, participants showed a 117 percent increase in members with diabetes optimal control quality, a 67 percent increase in blood pressure control and more than $200,000 in saved hospital costs when compared with a control group.
According to a study in the March issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine (based on 2007 data from a government database of 27 million visits to 970 emergency rooms in 27 states) about 700,000 Americans were taken to the hospital after taking drugs, both legal and illegal. These trips cost more than $1.4 billion in emergency charges alone. The same study reports that antidepressants and pain medications were responsible for 45 percent of all emergency room visits for drug-related poisonings.
The MTM program and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota-represented HealthPartners pharmacists are working to improve these statistics. Today, the program continues to support patients with medication reviews, suggestions for cost savings, and advice on how to safely and effectively take medications.
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners family of health care companies serves more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota unites 15,000 hospital, clinic, nursing home, and homecare workers in Minnesota’s acute and long term care industries. Our union is dedicated to ensuring quality, affordable healthcare for every American and improving the lives of all of Minnesota’s working families. For more information, go to www.seiuhealthcaremn.org
ST. PAUL, MN — SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members at HealthPartners clinics voted Thursday to overwhelmingly ratify a new three year contract that:
“This contract ensures that HealthPartners continues to be a great place to work and a leader in patient care,” said Jean Pfarr, a registered nurse at HealthPartners Riverside. “By standing together, we have set a standard for healthcare workers – a standard that includes quality, affordable health insurance and a commitment to training and workforce development.”
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