Merger talks end between large health care systems in Minnesota, South Dakota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A merger that would have created one of the largest health service companies in the Upper Midwest has been scrapped. Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health announced Thursday that they would not proceed with the merger they had been discussing since late last year. It would have created a system with more than 50 hospitals and about 78,000 employees. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that it marks the second time in a decade that the two companies considered merging. The latest attempt drew opposition at the University of Minnesota, which partners with Fairview and opposed the idea of an out-of-state entity owning its medical center in Minneapolis.