Minnesota lawmakers removed the most controversial part of the nurse staffing bill on Monday amid pressure from the Mayo Clinic and other health systems.
Previous versions of the law, which passed the Minnesota Legislature last month, would require hospitals to form committees of nurses, other direct caregivers and executives to set levels. personnel for inpatient care units. The Mayo Clinic is based in Rochester, Minnesotathe largest health system in the North Star State, threaten to withdraw billions dollars in construction plan in Minnesota The bill has become law. Lawmakers later granted Mayo an exemption, drawing criticism from other Minnesota health systems.
In the final hours of the 2023 legislative session on Monday night, lawmakers removed the staffing committee mandate and immunity to the Mayo Clinic. The bill would still require hospitals to form committees to address workplace violence. In addition, the Department of Health will establish a debt relief program for nurses and other practitioners—75% of which will be for rural suppliers—and publishes an independent report on nurse revenues.
State Representative Sandra Feist (D) and State Senator Erin Murphy (D), the bill’s lead sponsors, touted the provisions on workplace safety, financial assistance and medical rotation. but expressed disappointment that the law “is covered by a battle between corporate organizations.”
“This is a really brilliant, very thoughtful, well-crafted compromise bill,” Feist said at a news conference Monday after the Nurse Patient Safety Act (formerly the The Keeping Nurses At The Bedside Act) was passed. “It really tells me a lot about this place that a bill like that cannot be passed into law. It’s disappointing,” she said.
“The strength of the company in healthcare was real, and we touched on it, and it was pushed back,” Murphy said. “Even so, we continue to fight.”
Mayo Clinic President and CEO Dr Gianrico Farrugia said in a statement that the company is “very grateful to the Government. [Tim] dance [(D)] and his team for their exceptional collaboration and leadership. Governor Walz, Speaker [Melissa] Hunter [(D)] And [Senate] majority leader [Kari] Dziedzic [(D)] expressed unwavering support for the Mayo Clinic and for our desire to grow and invest in healthcare and our community.”
The Mayo Clinic argues that vendors like themselves that use acumen-based HR software should be exempt from the HR requirements. Administrators and nurses from other hospitals in Minnesota and criticized the Mayo Clinic ablation.
Hospital and health system representatives also said that the staffing requirement not feasible in the context of labor shortagecompete it will lead to service cuts if the employer cannot comply with the rules. The Minnesota Nurses Association supported the bill amid job cuts, staff shortages, increased workplace violence and worsening burnout.
The Minnesota Hospital Association said in a statement that it appreciated the lawmakers’ “thoughtful consideration and willingness to listen to our concerns about legislation affecting patient care” .
Minnesota Nurses Association President Mary Turner said in a statement that “because of the power and influence of the company’s healthcare executives, that bill is dead.” Association of Nurses and Hospital Industry support similar legislation enacted in 2014 that was limited to calling for HR research after supplier objections led lawmakers to back away from minimum staffing requirements.
This year the Minnesota Legislature also scrapped plans to sanction hospitals exceed the standard of cost growth, which the Mayo Clinic also opposes. Instead, lawmakers passed a measure establishing a study of health care costs.
