The Health Care System Is Straining. Communities Are Pointing Toward a Better Way.

Across Minnesota and across the country, more people are struggling to access and afford health care.

Recent data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows the number of uninsured Minnesotans has risen to its highest level in years, up 50% from last year. National reporting shows a similar trend: families delaying care, skipping prescriptions, or cutting back on medical visits because of rising costs.

At HealthFinders Collaborative, these trends are showing up every day. Executive director, Charlie Mandile shared, “We are seeing consistently high demand. We’re booked out 5-6 weeks.”

In 2025, HealthFinders served more patients across more programs than at any point in its history. Dental capacity increased fivefold, recovery programs increased, and new models of school health began to take hold. Despite this, demand continues to outpace capacity, with wait times still common.

For some patients, navigating these barriers is not new. But today, more people are experiencing the limits of the health care system firsthand—through high deductibles, limited access to providers, or coverage that doesn’t translate into affordable care.

And when people can’t access care early, the consequences ripple outward.

When Care Is Delayed, Everyone Feels It

When health care becomes harder to access, people often wait.

Preventive care gets postponed. Chronic conditions worsen. Mental health challenges go untreated. What could have been a manageable issue becomes a crisis.

“When people delay care, problems become more serious and more expensive to treat,” Mandile said. “Wherever people end up getting care—hospital, emergency rooms, or clinics—it is often unnecessarily high-cost. Those costs don’t just affect one patient—they affect families, employers, schools, and the entire health system.”

 Across communities, these patterns are placing growing strain on hospitals, providers, and public systems, while also driving worse health outcomes.

“This moment is revealing something many people inside the system have known for a long time,” Mandile said. “The way health care is structured today doesn’t always match how people actually live or what actually keeps them healthy.”

A Different Approach Is Already Taking Shape

For more than two decades, HealthFinders and its network of partners across the health system have been building a different approach to care—one that treats health not just as a clinical outcome, but as something shaped by relationships, access, and the conditions of daily life.

Instead of focusing only on clinical treatment, the model brings together medical, dental, behavioral health, and wellness support in ways designed to meet people where they are, in clinics, schools, and community settings.

“We talk to patients and their families every day, and we’ve learned what really supports their health is happening in community,” Mandile said. “What happens in people’s homes, schools, and neighborhoods matters just as much as what happens in the exam room.”

That perspective shows up in practice: school-based health services that reach students where they are, culturally responsive care teams that reflect the communities they serve, and community health workers who help patients navigate complex systems and stay connected to care.

This is not just about filling gaps, it’s innovating to show what a more effective and human-centered system could look like.

Building a Health System That Works for Real Life

As health care costs continue to rise and more people face barriers to care, models like HealthFinders are drawing increasing attention not as alternatives on the margins, but as signals of where health care could be.

By helping people access care earlier, supporting prevention, and addressing the real-life conditions that affect health, community-centered care can improve outcomes while reducing long-term costs and system strain.

“We believe the future of health care has to look different,” Mandile said. “It has to be more connected to community, more responsive to patients, and more focused on prevention.”

That shift is not about replacing the existing health system—it’s about reshaping it so that care works better for everyone.

“This moment is challenging,” Mandile said. “But it’s also an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to build a system that actually supports people’s health instead of making it harder to achieve.”