Washington Regional Medical Center will cut 27 jobs because of increased costs due to health care reform, the hospital announced Monday.
Although 27 positions will be eliminated, a statement from the hospital states the job cuts are expected to affect 15 to 20 employees, or about 1 percent of the Washington Regional workforce.
Because of health care reform, Washington Regional has seen a drop of annual revenues of $8.75 million each of the last two years, according to the hospital’s statement. The Washington Regional system has tried to deal with the revenue losses by instituting pay freezes, executive pay cuts, early retirement offers, supply chain efficiencies and elimination of some unfilled positions, the statement reads.
“The current changes in health care are the most significant and noteworthy to hospitals since the establishment of Medicare about 50 years ago, said Bo Ryall, president of the Arkansas Hospital Association, in the statement. “Hospitals are seeing drastic cuts to reimbursement and must constantly manage the impact of those reductions to remain viable and provide quality care to those who need it.”
