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Medica to Acquire Parts of UCare

Medica and UCare recently announced an agreement through which significant contracts and assets of UCare will be taken over by Medica. Individuals enrolled in UCare’s 2026 Medicaid and Individual and Family plans will continue to receive services without interruption. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2026. Individuals enrolled in a UCare plan for calendar year 2025 will continue to receive coverage without interruption. For the 2026 plan year, eligible individuals may continue to enroll in health coverage offered by either Medica or UCare. UCare is making some very difficult changes so it can continue serving Minnesotans. While ending its Medicare Advantage plans and reducing service areas for some Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare plans, UCare will continue to offer a broad range of health plans.

“Combined, UCare and Medica have nearly a century of industry expertise and a shared commitment to community-driven coverage for those who need it most,” said Hilary Marden-Resnik, president and CEO of UCare. “This is a significant agreement that will enable us to preserve access to coverage for Minnesota’s most vulnerable members.”

“As a nonprofit, community-focused health plan, Medica has a long history of serving members in Minnesota, guided by our mission and trusted relationships with providers, customers and members,” said Lisa Erickson, CEO of Medica. “Now we have the opportunity to build upon both Medica’s strengths and UCare’s legacy, allowing Minnesotans to continue to have a health care experience that ensures they feel cared for.”

UCare has clearly stated that it will remain in business and is deeply committed to its mission of serving Minnesotans with compassion, care and respect. While some plans are changing, its focus on community health and access to care remains strong.

UCare is evolving to meet today’s challenges while staying true to its values. These changes are intended to stabilize the organization and to continue serving its communities and delivering on its mission. Providers or members with questions are encouraged to visit Medica.com or UCare.org for more information.

State Freezes Payments to 14 Medicaid Services

Gov. Tim Walz recently announced that in response to significant widespread fraud, his administration is pausing all payments for 14 Medicaid services for up to 90 days pending a third-party audit. Minnesota public programs have been victims of blatant fraud resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. The Department of Human Services (DHS) identified 14 Medicaid service types as “high-risk” because of “vulnerabilities, evidence of fraudulent activity, or data analytics that revealed potentially suspicious patterns, claim anomalies or outliers,” DHS Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi wrote to the federal government. 

• Affected programs include:
• Integrated Community Supports
• Nonemergency Medical Transportation
• Peer Recovery Services
• Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services
• Adult Day Services
• Personal Care Assistance/Community First Services and Supports
• Recuperative Care
• Individualized Home Supports
• Adult Companion Services
• Night Supervision
• Assertive Community Treatment
• Intensive Residential Treatment Services

In pausing the funding, Walz said, “We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if they don’t have the backing of the public’s trust. In order to restore that trust we are pumping the brakes on 14 programs that were created to help the most disadvantaged among us, yet have become the target of criminal activity.” Minnesota’s Medicaid autism treatment program is among those with frozen funding.

Walz says that the review of payments could result in longer wait times before the providers are paid, but the state will still meet federal rules, which require payment within 90 days. Gandhi says the department intends to pay most claims within 30 days. The governor’s office said the state has outsourced the audit to Optum, which will analyze Medicaid billing and flag issues for DHS to review. Of note and question, Optum is a part of UnitedHealth Group, a Minnesota-based health care giant currently under U.S. Department of Justice investigation for various seemingly fraudulent practices.

UofM Accuses Fairview of Hostile Attempt to Takeover Medical School

Recent contract negotiations between Fairview Health and physicians practicing at the University of Minnesota Medical School have taken a bad turn. Whereas there have been various, ongoing and evolving partnerships between Fairview and the university, creating and rebranding components and entities for nearly 30 years, fundamental challenges continue. To a significant extent, the mission of a land grant educational facility may simply be incompatible with that of a corporate entity. Regardless, M Physicians, a clinical practice of the University of Minnesota Medical School faculty, rebranded by an existing Fairview agreement, recently announced a new 10-year working arrangement extension. The framework for this arrangement has been called into question for several reasons by the Regents of the University of Minnesota, and the state attorney general has been brought into what is now a contentious debate of legal authority. A separate agreement between Fairview and the UofM is set to expire at the end of next year, and the regents claim that agreement prohibits the proposed new contract with M Physicians without their involvement. They claim the new agreement would make M Physicians “a captive entity to Fairview” instead of an independent and key part of the university’s academic health center, which could also give Fairview significant leverage in any ongoing partnerships with the university. They claim the recent actions strongly overstep Fairview and the University of Minnesota Physician’s authority — and represent a hostile takeover of the University of Minnesota Medical School. They also claim that it puts the interests of a single regional provider and a physician group above Minnesotans, and handcuffs the university’s ability to provide medical education and conduct life-saving research. Details of the Fairview-M Physicians partnership are expected to be worked out by the end of 2025; the regents, however, in their letter to the attorney general have urged forestalling the action. Citing four specific remedies, the regents have requested mediation and will present a standstill plan by 12/31/2025. Fairview claims to be open to discussions with the UofM; several events over the course of the partnership, however, create cause for concern. Failed potential business relationships with Sanford Health and Essentia Health, as well as debates over the sustainability of Fairview financial investments in university infrastructure are recent examples. The complex relationship, having gone through leadership changes at every level on both sides, continues to face significant internal communication challenges.

New Mayo Study Finds Few Women Seek Menopause Care

A recent study published by the Mayo Clinic of 5,000 women ages 45 to 60 found that most did not seek care for the symptoms of menopause. More than 3 out of 4 respondents experienced menopause symptoms, with many reporting substantial effects on daily life, work productivity and overall well-being. More than one-third (34%) of women who were surveyed reported moderate to very severe symptoms. Sleep disturbances and weight gain were among the most common issues reported by more than half of participants. Perhaps the most significant finding was that more than 80% of the survey respondents did not seek medical care for their menopause symptoms. Despite the ready availability of effective treatment options, the study found that menopause symptoms remain underrecognized, undertreated and inadequately addressed by the health care system. It is likely that most women are navigating this stage of life without medical care to help manage menopause. Many survey responses indicated a preference for symptom self-management with others citing either being too busy to seek care or being unaware that effective treatments exist. The survey indicated only about 1 in 4 women were receiving any treatment for menopause symptoms. “Menopause is universal for women at midlife, the symptoms are common and disruptive, and yet, few women are receiving care that could help them,” says lead author Ekta Kapoor, MBBS, an endocrinologist and menopause specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. “This gap has real consequences for women’s health and quality of life, and it’s time we address it more proactively.” Without proper treatment, menopause symptoms can negatively affect sleep, mood, cognition, and productivity at work and at home. The findings underscore the importance of health care professionals proactively identifying and managing menopause symptoms in patients who may be struggling with them. The study noted that women often do not voluntarily mention concerns about menopause symptoms to their health care professional.

Efforts are underway to destigmatize menopause care, making it more visible and accessible. “Our goal is to educate women and health care professionals about menopause,” Dr. Kapoor says. “We can close the gap between need and care — and help midlife women live healthier, more fulfilling lives.”

Herself Health and Midi Health Form New Alliance

Herself Health and Midi Health, recently announced a new collaboration. Herself Health, now operating five clinic locations across the Twin Cities all focused on serving women over age 65, and Midi Health, a virtual care provider offering support to over 200,000 women nationwide, are offering a hybrid model that combines virtual services with in-person primary care clinics across the Twin Cities. Midi Health focuses on perimenopause and menopause support, hormone therapy, lifestyle coaching and mental health services. The new model will expand the age range of Herself Health patients and offers a continuum of care that addresses the needs of midlife and older women. Women in midlife can now benefit from a more connected experience across care settings. Herself Health will offer primary care virtually and in-person at its five clinics across the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, including annual wellness visits, gynecological care, behavioral health support and, when needed, more complex or chronic condition management. Patients may engage with providers, accessing hormonal care through Midi Health and primary care through Herself Health, depending on their individual needs.

As part of its continued investment in women’s care, Herself Health — which has historically focused on women over age 65 — is also now expanding its model to serve younger women seeking women-focused primary care. Beginning in January 2026, Herself Health will launch a paid membership program designed for women ages 50–64, offering enhanced access to care and personalized health support. The program will include on-site mammography and a dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan to measure bone density at select Twin Cities clinics, available to both Herself Health and Midi Health patients.

CIDRAP Relaunches Coronavirus Vaccine Roadmap

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) recently announced the launch of a new, improved Coronavirus Vaccines R&D Roadmap (CVR), a global, open-access platform designed to track scientific progress toward the development of broadly protective coronavirus vaccines. Created in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the new website transforms CIDRAP’s Coronavirus Vaccines Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap into a dynamic, continuously updated resource for researchers, policymakers and funders. The roadmap — originally launched in 2023 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Gates Foundation — outlines key goals and milestones to guide global coronavirus vaccine R&D. With CEPI’s investment, and in collaboration with 50 scientific experts from around the world, the new initiative serves to monitor progress in these priority research areas and further catalyze coronavirus vaccine development critical for future preparedness and response.  

The new site hosts three integrated components:

• Coronavirus Vaccine Technology Landscape: a curated, continually updated database of coronavirus vaccines in preclinical and clinical development, including broadly protective, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS vaccine candidates.
• R&D Progress Tracker: an interactive tool that monitors scientific advances and reports progress toward achieving the roadmap’s defined goals and milestones according to five major topic areas: virology, immunology, vaccinology, animal and human infection models, and policy and financing.
• CVR Scholar Hub: an online resource center featuring literature reviews, data syntheses and other materials supporting researchers in coronavirus vaccine development.

“The launch of this new digital home marks an important next step for the roadmap and for the broader vaccine research community,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor and Director of CIDRAP. “We now have a centralized, open-access resource that allows scientists, funders, and policymakers to see in real time where progress is being made and where critical gaps remain. Our goal is to turn information into action — accelerating discovery, collaboration and preparedness for the next coronavirus threat.”



Coronaviruses remain among the top pandemic threats identified by the World Health Organization. The Coronavirus Vaccines R&D Roadmap Initiative website and associated resources are freely available at cvr.cidrap.umn.edu.