Voice your concerns about Sutter Health’s proposed acquisition of Allina Health
1. Start with who you are
- You are a nurse or health care worker in Minnesota.
- You work in hospital care.
- You are submitting a comment because this acquisition could affect workers, patients, and communities across the state.
2. Describe your position carefully
- You have serious concerns about Sutter Health’s proposed acquisition of Allina Health.
- Based on the information available so far, you do not believe this acquisition should move forward without much more transparency and clear protections for workers and patients.
- You want the Attorney General to closely review the potential impact before allowing the transaction to proceed.
- Sutter Health has not provided enough information about what this acquisition would mean for:
- hospital workers
- collective bargaining agreements
- pensions
- patient care
- the future of local hospitals and services
- Sutter’s past business practices have been shown to lead to higher prices for patients, while mergers in general are shown to reduce accessibility and lead to workforce reductions.
- Workers and communities deserve clear answers before an acquisition of this size moves forward.
3. Pick a Topic(s) to share more about
Collective bargaining agreements and worker protections
- Allina has said current contracts will be honored, but also that working conditions could “evolve” over time
- That is not enough to reassure workers about the long-term future.
- Hospital workers need more than short-term statements during a transition period.
- Sutter Health has not clearly stated what this acquisition would mean for collective bargaining agreements moving forward.
- Workers need clear, public assurances that:
- collective bargaining agreements will be honored, as-is,
- pension obligations will be protected
wages, benefits, and working conditions will not be weakened over time
staffing, and - frontline hospital jobs will be protected.
Accountability and public oversight
Because Sutter would be the acquiring system, it must make clear and enforceable commitments to protect workers, patients, and communities. Vague or short-term statements are not enough.
Protections workers need addressed
- Whether union contracts will be honored beyond the immediate transition.
- Whether pensions will be fully protected.
- Whether wages, benefits, and working conditions will be maintained.
- Whether staffing and frontline hospital jobs will be protected over time.
Concerns about cost and affordability
- There is concern that Sutter Health’s business practices have led to higher health care costs.
- Minnesota patients and families cannot afford care becoming more expensive.
- Any transaction involving major hospital systems should be reviewed not only for workforce impact, but also for its effect on affordability and public health.
Concerns about hospitals and access to care
- There is concern that this acquisition could lead to:
- hospital closures,
- reduced hospital services,
- consolidation of care away from local communities.
- These risks could be especially serious for rural and regional facilities.
- Communities in greater Minnesota already face challenges in maintaining access to local hospital care.
- Any loss of services or hospital capacity could further strain patients, caregivers, and surrounding health systems.
Concerns About Sutter’s Priorities
- Sutter has placed significant public emphasis on AI, digital tools, and innovation, while workers and communities still do not have clear answers about how this acquisition would affect access to care, hospital services, staffing, and collective bargaining agreements.
- Before an acquisition of this scale moves forward, the public deserves clear information about how workers, patients, and communities would be affected.
- Any review of this transaction should stay focused on the basics: protecting hospital workers, preserving access to care, and ensuring communities are not left with less.
4. Explain why this matters
- Uncertainty for nurses and health care workers affects morale, retention, and staffing stability.
- Instability in the workforce can affect continuity of patient care and patient outcomes.
- Changes to hospital ownership should be evaluated based on their real impact on workers, patients, and community access to care.
5. Make an ask of the Attorney General
- Providing patients, workers, and the public information from Sutter Health before allowing this acquisition to proceed.
- Require clear, enforceable commitments regarding collective bargaining agreements, pensions staffing and working conditions to protect workers and patients.
- Require safeguards to ensure this acquisition does not reduce access to hospital care, particularly in rural communities and regional facilities.
- Require safeguards to ensure this acquisition does not increase costs for patients and families.
6. Include strong closing language
- “At this time, I do not believe this acquisition should move forward without more transparency and enforceable protections for workers and patients.”
- “I urge the Attorney General to require meaningful safeguards and full public accountability before this transaction is allowed to proceed.”
- “Hospital workers and communities deserve clear answers before a change of this scale moves forward.”
7. Submit your input
When your draft is ready, submit your comments to the Attorney General’s Community Input Form.