Dive Brief:
- Minnesota's Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association (MJUA) is not required to make its records public, a decision that ends a two-year legal fight between the MJUA and the Star Tribune newspaper.
- The MJUA was created by the state to provide liability coverage for healthcare providers considered too high-risk to obtain insurance through the private market.
- The MJUA "clearly and unambiguously is not a state agency," the court stated, backing the association's argument that it is not public because it is funded by its policyholders, not taxpayers.
Dive Insight:
The court's decision contrasts with a previous ruling that came from a Ramsey County district judge who had sided with the Star Tribune, but was later successfully appealed.
The newspaper had argued that the MJUA's records should be open because it was created by the state for the public purpose of keeping hospitals, doctors and nursing homes in business. The newspaper took interest while reporting in May 2013 that the association had spent upwards of $32 million during the last decade to settle claims, including some suits in which providers were accused of crippling or killing patients.
"The MJUA is pleased with the decision, because of its concerns for the privacy of its policyholders," Paula Vraa, the MJUA's attorney, told The Star Tribune. "The Supreme Court recognized that MJUA receives no state money, could not bind the state, and thus, was not a state agency."