Sanford's breakup leaves Fairview in troubled waters

Minnesotans may think their health system is superior, but it needed merger more than Sanford Health

Sanford Health’s decision to pull out of a proposed merger with Fairview Health Services following months of flagellation leaves the two health systems on their own to navigate uncertain futures in the health care industry.

The decision to terminate the merger followed nine months of battering from an array of critics in Minnesota. The outcome mirrored a similar attempt a decade earlier, but in that instance, Sanford walked away in only a few weeks.

“This one lingered, kind of like a patient on life support, yet it faced many of the same opponents,” Allan Baumgarten, a Minneapolis health analyst, told The Dakota Scout. When the latest merger was announced, Baumgarten gave it a 50-50 chance of succeeding.

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