Financial struggles at Minneapolis Hospitals

[MlouRN]

We are being told that all the area hospitals are having financial struggles. Some are laying off employees and we have been told 50 jobs will be cut from here, Fairview Health Care system. Thisis all supposedly from a change in reimbursement and increase in write offs. What is happening in the area?

[WhatNext?]

The system I worked in for 20+ years always talked about financial problems and had lay-offs and unit closings. I went through five of them, and finally lost my job with the sixth. It is such a perennial issue that it becomes meaningless. I have become pretty cynical about health care systems' financial problems.

Having said that, there are problems with reimbursements from Medicare, the State of Minnesota Medical Assistance, and Managed Care Companies. Medicare reimbursement is based on DRGs, as is MA and MnCare. Managed care means that the the insurance companies are given deep discounts on costs in order for the hospitals, doctors, etc. to be considered providers for a particular insurance. The amounts of the discounts are deep secrets from the public and usually from employees as well. You would be amazed at the discrepancy between the "charges" for items and services, and the actual amount of money that is paid to the hospitals and clinics.

The state budget that was approved in 2005 slashed health benefits to thousands of MnCare subscribers. In order to keep the governor's campaign promise of no tax increases, money was slashed from education, health and social services.

Please reallize that this is my own opinion of what is going on. Health care is a business now. Everything is about the bottom line.