Another sign of the times in health care
When it comes to layoffs, there's only one thing worse than reading about them: becoming a layoff casualty.
That outcome is even more likely to be happening at times of great change in an industry, and health care certainly qualifies as an industry undergoing a high degree of change. So, when Reliant Medical Group announced the layoffs of 78 employees last week, or about 3 percent of its payroll — it came as no surprise.
Reliant's action highlights the far-reaching impact of health care reform on those who provide care. Many layoffs have already taken place in hospital systems, where the federal government, through the agency that oversees Medicare, has begun imposing financial penalties on readmissions. Those penalties have squeezed many institutions. A statement from Reliant said that the largest independent, ambulatory integrated health system in Central Massachusetts was facing similar pressures, in the form of reduced utilization of services due to higher insurance deductibles and declining reimbursements.
While some organizations in the health care delivery system are tightening their belts, others are growing, and the long-term demographic trends of this region — a growing population of older adults — mean that there ought to be long-term growth ahead. While further consolidation may be inevitable, institutions that change with the times are more likely to emerge as stronger, long-term players than those that resist those changes.
WBJ Web Partners
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