This is a preview of the fall 2026 edition of Cancer Legal Care's newsletter, The Occasional Connector: A newsletter for people who care all the time.
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Cancer Legal Care Celebrates the Start of Minnesota Paid Leave
Erin Hartung, Director of Legal Services & Managing Attorney, ICARE Program
Cancer Legal Care has long had a dream of a program that would provide income replacement for employees taking time off work to go through cancer treatment, or to care for loved ones going through treatment. Our client services and other work focus on strategies to reduce the financial toxicity of cancer, and tackling the loss of income and employment benefits - like health insurance - due to a cancer diagnosis is one of our core service goals.
This is why, when we heard about the passage of the Minnesota Paid Leave law back in 2023, we were ecstatic and hopeful and looking forward to January 1, 2026, when the law would take effect. Now that time has come and after more than six months of the program’s existence, we are beginning to reflect on its impact for our clients and their families.
In short - Minnesota Paid Leave has been a game changer for many of our clients.
We have heard stories of clients who have been able to keep their health insurance (and therefore their treatment plan) intact for an additional 12 weeks instead of facing the choice between paying incredibly high premiums for a COBRA plan vs. restarting their deductible on a MNSure plan.
We have heard many stories of clients being able to fully focus on their or their loved one’s health, rest, and recovery without a significant hit to their finances and ability to pay their bills. And in true Minnesota fashion, our clients have shared information about Minnesota Paid Leave with their support groups and friends, wanting others to have the same financial support if they need it.
In the first six months of 2026, almost 75,000 Minnesotans were approved for Paid Leave. That’s 75,000 people who were able to move some of their energy away from worrying about finances and place it where they deserve to have it: on their health and their families.
There is still work to be done to support Minnesotans with cancer, like finding a way to improve our state and federal laws to fully eliminate the income gap while an individual waits for their Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to begin. But good progress is in the works, and Minnesota Paid Leave has proved to be a crucial support in helping Minnesotans weather the storm of a cancer diagnosis while protecting the financial stability of their families.
Minnesota Paid Leave is a big win for our clients.
