Another regional healthcare system is addressing systemic revenue losses by reducing their headcount. In this case, the three Illinois-based hospital system known as Edward-Elmhurst Health is cutting 234 positions. Of the 234, 150 jobs represent positions that will not be filled and the remaining 84 include 36 management jobs. Senior management cites an increase in Medicare and Medicaid patients with lower reimbursement rates that do not fully cover expenses, and a number of patients experiencing financial difficulties because of rising co-pays and deductibles.
CEO Mary Lou Mastro previously announced that it would be eliminating approximately $50 million of its $1.4 billion operating budget. The organization also dozens of regional urgent care and free-standing surgical centers. This appears to be a preemptive move for the Edward-Elmhurst Health system created by the merger of Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. According to a published report, the system did not experience a loss in their last fiscal year but did face a shortfall in their operating projections.
It remains to be seen if the system follows the trend to outsource employees to a labor contractor to make future staff adjustments easier and without additional financial and legal costs.