More Hospital Layoffs Blamed On Budget Cuts

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Large hospitals all over New Hampshire say they can't maintain current staffing levels given the state's budget cuts..

Yesterday, we posted the blog equivalent of a highlights reel for a New York Times article.  The newspaper’s piece examined how state and federal budget cuts are taking the steam out of the health care industry’s role as one of the country’s few job creators.  Eliot Health System in Manchester got a mention, as the provider blames state Medicaid cuts for forcing it to layoff 182 workers.

And the fallout continues at New Hampshire’s largest hospitals.  NHPR’s Dan Gorenstein reports Catholic Medical Center recently laid off 80 employees, also citing state cuts to Medicaid.

“Officials at Catholic Medical Center say the change in reimbursement means the non-profit hospital must come up with $12 million dollars to pay to the state by October.

Hospital CEO Alyson Pitman Giles says CMC tried to eliminate jobs that would preserve patient services.”

Catholic Medical Center, Eliot, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, and seven other New Hampshire hospitals are suing the state over the budget cuts.