MPR's Tom Scheck reports that the chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee is calling on state agencies to get tougher with the state's health care providers. The committee held a hearing on Attorney General Mike Hatch's audit of Allina Health Systems.
Senate Finance Chairman Doug Johnson says legislators need to meet with Governor Ventura's staff to come up with a better way to monitor how HMOs spend their money. Meanwhile, officials at both Allina and its former HMO Medica say they will lay off workers as a result of Hatch's investigation.