Boston Medical Center said it will lay off 119 people because"dramatic changes" in Medicaid reimbursement have led to a projected $175 million loss for the year. The healthcare provider to thousands of the area's poorest residents will cut 44 nurses and 30 management staff, effective Oct. 1, reports the Boston Business Journal. The hospital also will reduce the hours of an additional 40 employees.
Although the layoff will only recover about $8 million, it is "one necessary element of addressing the hospital's financial situation," Tom Traylor, BMC's vice president of federal, state and local programs, told the Journal. Meanwhile, hospital officials remain optimistic that additional Medicaid funds--$90 million a year for two years--will soon be approved by the federal government, reports the Boston Globe.
If no additional funding is obtained, Boston Medical Center predicts it will run out of cash by next fall. "We cannot cut our way to prosperity or to even break even," CEO Kate Walsh told the Globe. "We need additional revenue."
If the government approves the money by the end of September, BMC plans to use some of it to reduce losses to about $35 million, Walsh said.
For more:
- read the Boston Globe article
- read the Boston Business Journal piece
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