Dive Brief:
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NYC Health + Hospitals on Friday cut 476 management positions, which will reduce the current six layers of managers to four and is expected to save the health system $60 million, several news outlets reported.
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The largest U.S. public health system cut 396 managers and eliminated 80 unfilled positions.
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The system expects the job cuts to lead to $60 million in savings in fiscal year 2018.
Dive Insight:
The announcement of the health system's massive restructuring day came after a $673 million loss was posted for Q3 2017. H+H interim President and CEO Stanley Brezenoff said in a statement the restructuring will reduce “unnecessary layers of management.” The health system will now be able to “better direct resources where we need them most — at the front line of patient care.” It also cut 70 employees in February.
Revenue increased by 1.8% to $6.7 billion during the third quarter. Yet system officials said net patient service revenues dropped by 9%. The reasons behind the drop were “lower payments from the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) and upper payment limit programs,” according to the healthcare system of 11 hospitals.
At that time, H+H predicted that it would cut its $779 million budget gap this year and end with $185 million cash in hand. In April, the health system announced a redesign of its management structure after losing $776 million for the first half of FY 17, but said at that time that they did not expect layoffs.
Hospitals are facing financial issues across the country. Safety net hospitals like H+H may soon face even more difficulties. H+H has a large Medicaid population and potential cuts in President Donald Trump’s budget and the American Health Care Act – the GOP's proposed bill to replace the Affordable Care Act – could send millions off of Medicaid. This would mean a system like H+H may soon face more uncompensated care.
H+H is looking for ways to improve its finances. One way is through a new Epic revenue cycle system that officials in May said will “improve efficiency and ensure that the health system is collecting the maximum amount of revenue for the services it delivers.” They expect it will improve clinical documentation, reduce claims denials and accelerate reimbursements.