Advocates call MNsure enrollment system unfair

ST. PAUL — Minnesota's new online health insurance exchange is hiring people to help residents sign up for its health plans. But advocates say the system is unfair because consumer assistants will be paid less for helping poor applicants who are reliant on Medicaid.

BCBS to hold forums on Affordable Care Act

FARGO, N.D. – Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is holding eight forums in the next two weeks to prepare employers statewide for changes in health care and its costs as the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented.

Gifts aim to improve rural Minn. heart attack care

ST. PAUL — Minnesota heart specialists on Thursday touted $6.5 million in charitable gifts that they say will save lives by improving the emergency medical response to acute heart attacks in rural areas.

Health insurance call center to open in September

ST. PAUL — The call center for Minnesota's new health insurance marketplace will be operational Sept. 3 to help prepare consumers for buying coverage when open enrollment begins a month later, officials said Wednesday.

Minn. nursing homes recognized for quality care

WINDOM, N.D. — Three Minnesota nursing homes have received national recognition for their commitment to quality care.

Researcher: Tribes vary greatly on medical studies

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Native American tribes are interested in taking part in medical research studies but tribes vary greatly on what is considered culturally acceptable, a Native American public health investigator said Wednesday.

Making the grade: What Altru Hospital's "D" grade means

Altru Hospital received a “D” grade in patient safety from nonprofit organization the Leapfrog Group.

Fargo hospitals receive ‘B’ grade for safety

FARGO, N.D. — Essentia and Sanford hospitals here received a “B” grade for safety in a recent national study.

Altru gets low mark for safety

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Altru Hospital in Grand Forks is lacking in patient safety, according to a nonprofit organization that gave the facility low marks in an annual national performance survey.

• Altru Hospital
• Making the grade: What Altru Hospital's "D" grade means

MNsure not due to release premium rates until Oct.

ST. PAUL — Consumers hoping for official quotes on how much they might have to pay for health plans sold on Minnesota's health insurance exchange, dubbed MNsure, are going to have to wait.

Fargo hospitals among cheapest in US

FARGO, N.D. — Here’s the good news: Hospitals here are among the cheapest in the nation.

• Ratio of Reimbursement Rates

Study: Sky's the limit for nursing grads

FARGO, N.D. – Less than a month after earning their degrees, 60 percent or more of North Dakota State University’s newest nursing graduates already have jobs.

UND med school tops list of highest-paid public employees

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota’s highest paid state employees don’t have to go far to find each other. Eight of the top 10 work in Grand Forks – six of them in the same building.

Sanford to trim $10 million in top jobs

FARGO, N.D. - Sanford Health is buying out a dozen of the 50 administrators offered early retirements or reassignments under a restructuring plan estimated to save $10 million a year.

• Sanford Medical Center

JLG to tackle UND med school project

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A new facility housing the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences will be designed by an architecture firm the university has relied on for decades, UND announced Tuesday.

• UND’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences