The public fight marks a new level of discord between the U and Fairview, two groups have been fractious partners for decades in funding and operating an academic health program. Their partnership is seen as a critical source of advanced health care for Minnesotans, and as being responsible for training the state’s next generation of doctors.
Fairview and UMP officials say their agreement doesn’t require approval by the university. And they maintain the new deal preserves significant funding for the U’s academic health program, even as more of the money is contingent on Fairview and UMP hitting certain targets for efficient operations.
Fairview has been the U’s academic medicine partner since 1997, when the health system acquired University of Minnesota Medical Center on the U’s East Bank campus in Minneapolis in a financial bailout. Fairview also owns Masonic Children’s Hospital on the U’s West Bank campus.
Their existing affiliation, which provides about $100 million in annual funding, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2026. But the Attorney General’s Office has said the parties should come to agreement by the end of this year because it could take all of next year to unwind the M Health Fairview enterprise.
The new agreement would provide $50 million in guaranteed funding per year from Fairview to UMP plus additional dollars depending on financial performance. Total annual funding, as a result, could meet, exceed or fall short of current levels, said James Hereford, the Fairview chief executive.
Doctors have been anxious for some sort of renewed pact with Fairview, said Dr. Greg Beilman, interim chief executive of University of Minnesota Physicians. The group has the legal authority to negotiate contracts independently from the U, Beilman said.