DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Essentia Health and the Minnesota Business Partnership hosted a bipartisan group of lawmakers and business leaders ahead of the 2026 legislative session on Wednesday.

The group included DFL Senator Grant Hauschild and republican representative Cal Warwas.

They discussed the challenges facing health care, especially in rural areas, and how policymakers and providers can work together for the people they serve.

“Your zip code should not determine the level of your care,” said David Herman, CEO of Essentia Health. “That will require us to do things differently. It’ll require us to invest in some things differently than we do right now. But I believe that it starts with the type of conversations that we had today.”

Lawmakers also discussed issues includi

See Full Page