More mass layoffs as hospitals face payment cuts

With state budget cuts to Medicaid reimbursements and a weak economy, more hospitals are turning to mass layoffs to conserve resources, according to an Advisory Board Company report.


Hospitals had 13 mass layoffs in August with 1,085 jobs lost, and 10 mass layoffs in July involving at least 622 hospital workers, according U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as reported by FierceHealthcare.


That puts hospitals on pace to face 127 mass layoffs this year, with at least 8,257 hospital workers losing their jobs.
Even some of the larger hospitals and health systems aren't immune to mass layoffs. This week, Virginia-based Inova Health System, announced plans to cut more than 600 employees as it outsources three major service lines, notes the Advisory Board Company.


Cleveland-based MetroHealth System said it will lay off 450 employees during the next two months to help trim $30 million off its budget and offset losses. And Western Connecticut Health Network will eliminate 60 workers, or 1 percent of its workforce, according to the report.


Furthering the bleak outlook for the healthcare workforce, the American Hospital Association claims that a 2 percent cut in the Medicare program would lead to the loss of 195,000 jobs by 2021, according to a FierceHealthcare spotlight.




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