Obamacare Causes Hundreds of Hospital Lay-Offs

DonGlock26 · May 30, 2013

May 30, 2013

Hundreds to be laid off at St. John Providence Health System

The Detroit News

Staff reductions are planned at all five St. John system hospitals, including St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights.

Detroit For the second time in as many months, a Metro Detroit hospital system has announced layoffs that could number in the hundreds.

Planned staff reductions for the five-hospital St. John Providence Health System were announced in a letter from interim CEO Jean Meyer to employees last week and confirmed by The Detroit News Wednesday. The Detroit Medical Center in April announced the layoff of 300 non-medical employees, as well as other cost-savings measures.

St. John Providence Hospital, owned by St. Louis-based Ascension Health, blamed a reduction in the volume of inpatient hospital services for the layoffs.

St. John Providence spokeswoman Daniela Scholl declined to say how many employees would be laid off by June 30. Asked if the total could exceed 700, Scholl said the number would be fewer than that for the St. John Providence Health System and Ascenion Health in Michigan combined.

(A)s our fiscal year 2013 comes to a close, consistent with national trends, we are continuing to respond to the changes in the healthcare environment, including the diminishing reliance on inpatient care services, the hospital said in a prepared statement. As part of our ongoing responsibility for stewardship, we understand that our next fiscal budget must reflect the ongoing changes in payment and utilization.

The hospital plans to shrink its staff by leaving vacancies unfilled and by eliminating positions, according to the statement.

David Seaman, executive vice president of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, said the federal Affordable Care Act has changed the fiscal environment for hospitals, and more can be expected to lay off employees over the coming years.

The federal health care law provides incentives for hospitals to reduce hospital admissions, and hospitals that continue to re-admit patients within 30 days for some conditions can be fined. As a result, many hospitals are experiencing decreased revenue. The shortfall was expected to be offset by the Medicaid expansion, which was to add thousands to Michigans Medicaid rolls and decrease the nearly $2 billion annually hospitals provide in uncompensated care for indigent patients. But Michigan lawmakers havent approved the expansion.

If we total up the cuts were seeing under the (Affordable Care Act), the recent sequestration and other adjustments, the anticipated (negative) impact on hospitals is about $9 billion, Seaman said. Weve essentially paid for a Medicaid expansion that we havent benefited from yet.

Allan Baumgarten, a Minneapolis-based independent analyst and author of Michigan Health Market Review, said Michigans poor economy and high unemployment rate also have affected hospitals as people have lost their insurance or employers have downgraded to cheaper health plans with higher deductibles.

Theyre having to staff down to right-size their staff to adjust to the number that are coming through the door, Baumgarten said. Michigan has a very high unemployment rate, and when people lose their jobs, they lose their health benefits.

A lot of people who have benefits, their employers have switched from a comprehensive to a high deductible health plan. (If they need surgery) people are thinking once or twice or three times about whether to do it now or later.

Beaumont Health System spokeswoman Colette Stimmell said, We have no plans for layoffs nor have we had any recent layoffs.

At Henry Ford Health System, spokesman David Olejarz said, While weve had no layoffs and none are planned, weve redeployed 100 employees at Henry Ford Hospital into open positions across the health system, reduced overtime and use of agency staff, and eliminated open positions to reduce expenses brought on by changes in the marketplace.

The Detroit Medical Center blamed layoffs mostly on federal sequestration of 2 percent of Medicare funds, and further reductions in payments from the state Medicaid program to hospitals.

Hospitals, doctors, graduate medical education programs, health insurers and prescription drug plans are expected to be pinched as Medicare cuts are implemented over the coming weeks and months. The White House estimates the Medicare cuts will total $11 billion.

The sequester was triggered because President Barack Obama and Congress werent able to reach an agreement to trim $1.2 trillion over 10 years as required by the federal Budget Control Act of 2011.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130530/BIZ/305290044#ixzz2Up13iUho
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Thanks Obama!! Hope and change is over, now get in the unemployment line, you hospital janitors and cooks. You wanted Obamacare, you've got it. Oh, and the kicker, they will be fined (or is that taxed?) for not having health insurance under Obamacare. LOL!!!!

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Obamacare Causes Hundreds of Hospital Lay-Offs

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Obamacare Causes Hundreds of Hospital Lay-Offs

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