High-risk Minn. providers stay in business thanks to state insurance

The ­Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association provides liability insurance to doctors, nurses and hospitals unable to get it anywhere else. An examination of Minn. Department of Commerce records and court documents has found that the group has spent at least $32 million over the last decade to settle claims, including $12 million to resolve 169 claims filed against health care providers, some of whom were accused of crippling or killing patients.