In Minnesota, Large Disparities in Health Care Persist by Race, Language, and Country of Birth

May 31, 2022

New report provides data to support improvement efforts

Minnesotans who are Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic/Latinx are far more likely than others to experience gaps in health care quality and less than optimal health outcomes, according to a new report from MN Community Measurement (MNCM). The report documents continued wide disparities in health care quality and outcomes by race, ethnicity, language, and country of origin using data collected by MNCM in 2021 that reflects care provided in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic and increased attention to equity and social justice in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd have combined to highlight the urgency of health equity as a priority for most health care stakeholders in Minnesota and nationally. As a result, comprehensive and reliable data about disparities are more important than ever – to identify problems, prioritize actions, and evaluate progress toward goals.

Key Findings

Using one of the most comprehensive sources of data on health care disparities in the nation, MNCM’s new report provides an update on disparities by race, ethnicity, language, and country of origin for Minnesota as a whole and by medical group.

Key findings of the analysis include the following:

  • Black and Indigenous Native patients fared worse than average on nearly all of the 18 measures included in the report, and Hispanic/Latinx patients fared worse than average on 12 of the measures. For all three of these groups, some of the largest gaps are in screening for colorectal cancer — with rates that are 15 to 17 percentage points below the statewide average of 71 percent.
  • Hmong, Spanish, and Somali are among the most common languages in Minnesota for patients with a preferred language other than English. Patients who speak these languages often have significantly lower rates of optimal care compared to the statewide average. As with race, the gaps are largest for colorectal cancer screening, where patients who speak Hmong, Spanish and Somali have screening rates that are 35, 25, and 42 percentage points below the statewide average, respectively.
  • Mexico, Somalia, and Laos are among the most common countries of birth outside of the U.S., and quality measures for patients born in these countries are often lower than for U.S.-born patients. Some of the largest gaps for these patients are for colorectal cancer screening (ranging from 23 to 40 percentage points below the statewide average) and follow-up care for depression (ranging from 9 to 15 percentage points below the statewide average for follow-up with adults after 12 months).

In addition to statewide results, appendices to the report also include results of quality measures by race, ethnicity, language, and country of origin at the medical group level. This analysis is useful for understanding variation in outcomes both within and across medical groups.

“As an organization that brings together data from across the state to drive improvement in health care, MNCM has an important part to play in these efforts,” said Julie Sonier, MNCM President and CEO. “But action is needed on many fronts – building trust among patients, delivering the right care at the right time, making sure that the way we pay for health care includes incentives for reducing disparities, and making sure that the right public policies are in place to support and sustain progress over time.”

The report’s analysis includes measures of statewide disparities for colorectal cancer screening, optimal diabetes care, optimal vascular care, optimal asthma control, mental health screening for adolescents, and outcomes of depression care for both adults and adolescents. Only patients who meet certain criteria (for example, having a medical office visit during the year) are counted in these measures. This is an important factor to consider in drawing general conclusions about population health from this data – for example, the measures in this report do not include people who received no health care or only received care at a hospital emergency room.

About MN Community Measurement

MN Community Measurement is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering health care decision makers with meaningful data to drive improvement. A trusted source of health care data since 2005, MNCM is a statewide resource for timely, comparable information on health care quality, cost, and equity. Learn more at www.mncm.org.


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October 20, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — October 20, 2026 — MN Community Measurement (MNCM) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Koble-MN's health information exchange (HIE) business line and the MNSHINE brand from The Koble Group. On November 1, MNCM will officially change its legal name to Minnesota Statewide Health Information Network and Exchange, known as MNSHINE. The transition follows a special joint meeting of MNCM's Board of Directors and members on October 12, at which the Board unanimously approved resolutions authorizing the acquisition, changing the organization's legal name, and establishing a new HIE Advisory Committee. Members unanimously adopted the name change and related amendments to the organization's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. An intentional decision to collaborate The transition is the result of an intentional decision by Minnesota health care leaders to collaborate on a health data landscape that makes sense: one that reduces redundancy, increases efficiency, and delivers needed information to those with legal authorization to receive it, where and when it is needed, without unnecessary administrative barriers. "This is not simply a merger of services. It is a deliberate choice to build the kind of health data infrastructure Minnesota deserves," said Liz Cinqueonce, President and CEO of MNCM. "For too long, organizations across our state have had to navigate duplicative systems and disconnected data. By bringing measurement and exchange together, we can reduce that burden and make sure the right information reaches the right people at the right time, with patient privacy protections firmly in place, so they can focus on improving care." The effort builds on months of work by the Executive Leadership Council, convened earlier this year by MNCM, the Minnesota Electronic Health Records Consortium, and Koble to explore how a sustainable, statewide health data utility could serve the public interest. "Minnesota is at its best when we take on difficult challenges together and align on solutions," said Mark Steffen, MD, Chair of the MNCM Board of Directors. "The Board's unanimous support reflects a shared conviction that our future depends on organizations keeping their unique strengths and missions while participating in shared infrastructure and governance. That balance is what enables greater coordination, transparency, efficiency, and impact." A trusted backbone for Minnesota's health data Minnesota's future health data ecosystem is one in which organizations retain their unique strengths and missions while participating in shared infrastructure and governance. The vision for MNSHINE is to become the health data utility, governed in the public interest with strong privacy protections and transparency, that serves as the trusted backbone connecting these efforts, ensuring data can be used more effectively to improve health, wellbeing, and outcomes for all Minnesotans. By bringing the measurement of health care quality, cost, and utilization together with the infrastructure that moves clinical data between organizations, MNSHINE will be positioned to support providers, payers, public health, researchers, policymakers, and communities alike, each within the limits of applicable law and participant agreements. The goal is healthier people, stronger communities, greater equity, better public decisions, smarter investments, and a health system that learns continuously. Continuity for HIE participants HIE services will continue without interruption. To ensure continuity of leadership and relationships, Chad Peterson, CEO of The Koble Group, has joined MNCM as Senior Vice President of HIE Services. “For HIE participants, this transition opens new possibilities,” said Peterson. “When exchange and measurement are guided by one mission, we can reduce duplication for providers and better support care coordination, while holding firm to the privacy protections patients expect. I’m proud to help lead that work, and I’m committed to making sure every participant feels supported as we grow.” MNCM has also established the HIE Advisory Committee as a standing committee of its Board of Directors. The committee continues the work of the Koble-MN Advisory Committee and will advise the Board on interoperability, participant relationships, privacy, security, data governance, and health equity. Jennifer Lamprecht of Sanford Health and Dr. Justine Mrosak of Hennepin Healthcare have been appointed to co-chair the committee, which will include consumer representatives alongside members representing a cross-section of Minnesota's health care community. Protecting patient privacy This transition changes who operates Minnesota's health information exchange. It does not change how patient information is protected or who may access it. MNSHINE will continue to operate in compliance with HIPAA and the Minnesota Health Records Act, which is among the strongest patient-consent laws in the nation, and in compliance with the participant agreements that govern how information is exchanged. Health information exchange and measurement will each remain governed by their own legal and contractual requirements, and bringing them into one organization does not change the purposes for which patient information may be used.
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