Our History

AXIS was founded in 1997 by Courage Center and Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute as an innovative model of care for people with disabilities. Their experience providing health care services to persons with disabilities convinced them that neither the fee-for-service system nor the traditional managed care was able to deliver appropriate, cost-effective care.

The Problem with Managed Care

People with disabilities weren't receiving the care they need because managed care was developed to oversee short-term episodes of illness, not the ongoing health needs of many people with disabilities. Managed care is also designed to manage cost by controlling access to specialty services. Those with permanent disabilities or chronic conditions often have longstanding relationships with a variety of specialty providers. Limiting access to these services, and failing to coordinate complex, ongoing needs can lead to poor health outcomes and increased costs. 

Becoming Part of the Solution

In the late 1990s, a Courage Center board member and parent of a young adult with a disability said, "There is nothing that scares me more than a case manager or someone sitting in a cubicle in a health plan deciding what my son needs." He believed it was imperative for Courage Center and Sister Kenny Institute to step forward and create a new model of managed care. He further stated that "people with disabilities are not the problem ... the system is the problem. We can continue to be frustrated ... or we can come forward and be part of the solution."  It was in that spirit that AXIS Healthcare was founded.

Accessing the Best Care for our Members

AXIS knows that Minnesota has many talented health care providers and health plans that are the envy of many across the nation. We have chosen to partner with these quality providers and plans to access their talents and facilitate communication among them in the best interests of consumers with disabilities. AXIS works on behalf of our members, fitting all the pieces together so that people with disabilities can remain active, healthy members of our community.

“We can continue to be frustrated… or we can come forward and be part of the solution.”
― Courage Center board member