Incomplete (tip-o-the-iceberg) list of healthcare related layoffs, shutdowns and crimes in February 2018:
For the month of February at least 13 U.S. hospitals had their patient data bases hacked, affecting more than 80-thousand people.
Beasley: Global healthcare industry number one target for cyber attacks in 2017
American Journal of Managed Care: ObamaCare-ACA mandated outpatient care for cancer victims actually increases taxpayer funded Medicare costs
JAMA Pediatrics: Skyrocketing number of U.S. babies under one year of age dying of suffocation
U.S. News & World Report: Best/worst state healthcare rankings
The New York Times: Skyrocketing nursing home evictions due to Medicare/Medicaid changes
Center for Connected Health Policy: Beware tele-health programs
Gallup Poll: Four out of ten doctors say the cost of their degree was not worth it
Becker’s Hospital Review: In first two months of 2017, 12 hospital executives resigned without notice or explanation
Mayo Clinic Proceedings: One in three early drug/device trials for patients with chronic conditions, falsified data
U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH): Corporate healthcare systems getting NIH taxpayer funding
The Washington Post: Bank loans to be made available to hospital patients. No loan, no healthcare?
The Medicus Firm: Don’t cry for the doctors as sign-on bonuses hit record average high of $30-thousand USD in 2017
Arkansas: University of Arkansas Medical Science eliminating 124 additional jobs, on top of the 6-hundred positions announced last month, due to being $72.3-million USD in the hole!
California: San Diego based Scripps Health reported a 94% crash in operating income! The hospital says operating costs are outpacing revenues. Anthem Blue Cross accusing Sonoma West Medical Center-Palm Drive Health Care District of a $13.5-million USD fraudulent billing scam. Federal government accusing Health Net of interfering with a Info-Tech audit, violating its contract with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. A husband and wife team accused of ripping off Medicaid taxpayers to the tune of $5-million, while they were managing Community Health Group in San Diego. Federal auditors also accuse California of failing to scrutinize $7-billion of Medicaid payments in 2016. San Diego based life science company Illumina eliminating 61 jobs mid-April. ReVision Optics issued a layoff WARN, 40 jobs in Lake Forest gone by the end of March. Blue Shield issued a layoff WARN, 44 San Francisco jobs gone by March. God powerless to stop ‘his’ Adventist Health Bakersfield from eliminating 177 jobs by April! Adventist Health White Memorial eliminating 160 Los Angeles jobs by April! Novartis Pharmaceuticals suddenly laid off 29 people in San Carlos. Pacific Alliance Medical Center finally revealed that it killed 731 Los Angeles jobs when it shutdown back in December! Texas based Concentra issued a layoff WARN for its Valencia ops, 134 jobs gone by April! Maker of plastic medical products Nypro issued a shutdown WARN for its factory in Porterville, 111 jobs gone by April!
Connecticut: New haven based Achillion Pharmaceuticals eliminating 18 jobs after partner Johnson & Johnson halted its support for developing a new Hep-C drug. After almost non-stop layoffs since 2016, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced an additional 107 more layoffs by April, as part of a plan to halt operations in Wallingford! Out of fear of lawsuits, Stamford based Purdue Pharma halted promotional ops to get doctors to push their opioid drugs. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics eliminating 198 jobs as part of its plan to halt ops in Brookfield by September!
Florida: Pensacola Naval Hospital shifting to outpatient pediatric care only, starting in July. Transitions Optical eliminating 34 Pinellas Park jobs mid-April.
Georgia: Federal government accusing HCA Healthcare owned Memorial University Medical Center of failing to comply with Medicare billing rules, at least 39 times, estimating that taxpayers overpaid the hospital by $1.4-million USD. Marietta based WellStar Health System laid off 49 people, including seven executives. Six hospitals suing Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for refusing to cover the costs of MRIs and CT scans. Two nurses with Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation charged with killing a patient in 2014, while other nurses watched and laughed. Others were charged with covering up the death. Security camera video shows the nurses cutting off the air to a World War-2 veteran and other nurses laughing as he begged for his life!
Idaho: The federal Health and Human Services Secretary met with Idaho administrators to discuss Idaho’s plan to offer health insurance that is not approved by ObamaCare-ACA, details of the meeting were not made public.
Illinois: Outcome Health suddenly laid off an additional 20 people (after eliminating 215 positions last year), possibly in connection with an investor fraud settlement. Naperville based Edward-Elmhurst Health slashing $35-million USD from its budget (on top of slashing $50-million last year), with layoffs in the works, due to a $92-million accounting error! Chicago based Norwegian American Hospital threatening to shutdown its pediatric unit by the end of March, due to crashing demand for services (only nine patients in 2016 and zero in 2017). News reports say other hospitals are considering similar shutdowns. Israel based Teva issued a shutdown WARN for its ops in Gurnee, 101 jobs gone between now and the end of the year!
Indiana: Med Express Urgent Care in Terre Haute shutdown due to ‘business reasons’. Indiana University Health Paoli Hospital shutting down its obstetrics unit, ten jobs affected by the end of March. Medical device maker Cook Medical restructuring in response to the changing global healthcare market, mainly through consolidation of operations (which usually means job cuts).
Kentucky: Kindred Healthcare reported a $135-million USD loss in its fourth quarter of 2017. Four executives of Louisville based Humana made more than $12-million USD combined by selling-off their own stock holdings in Humana.
Massachusetts: UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital shutting down its gastrointestinal unit, eight jobs affected. Morton Hospital shutting down its maternity ward in April. Lemuel Shattuck Hospital shutting down, 7-hundred jobs affected by 2021! Boston based drugs maker Intarcia suddenly laid off 60 people due to the FDA rejecting its latest drug. Steward Health Care moving its HQ to Texas, affecting 1-hundred jobs in Boston! Partners HealthCare off-shoring 1-hundred tech jobs, to India! Also in Boston, Sanofi Genzyme laying off 130 people in an effort to reduce operating costs! Lowell General Hospital laid off seven health info-tech employees.
Michigan: Employees of Borgess Medical Center warned of massive layoffs due to the hospital being “over budget”, despite hospital administrators boasting of building a new addition to the hospital, which will cost at least $35-million USD. Mmmm, wonder why they’re over budget? Texas owned Detroit Medical Center reducing meal options for patients and eliminating 3-hundred jobs saying “It’s part of a plan to be much more efficient…” Sparrow Health System shutting down its Saint Lawrence emergency room in May. Henry Ford Allegiance Health agreed to settled a federal lawsuit accusing it of colluding with other hospitals to intentionally limit advertising competition within their respective counties. Memorial Healthcare facing a federal lawsuit after allegedly rejecting a nurses job application, because she refused to get a flu shot as part of her religious beliefs.
Minnesota: Shriners Hospitals for Children-Twin Cities “evaluating alternative options for inpatient care” including a total shutdown. The Star Tribune reporting 341 ‘preventable’ medical errors in 2017, at least 12 people died and 103 injured due to increased incompetence in Minnesota hospitals. In Fridley, DaVita Clinical Research eliminating 53 jobs by mid-April.
Missouri: Non-profit Western Missouri Medical Center suddenly eliminated 41 jobs saying “We have not been immune to the ever-growing challenges in the healthcare industry…” A woman sentenced to five years probation for posing as a nurse instructor at Saint Alexius Hospital, it was shown she lied about her education and employment history, and stole a nursing license from a nurse in New Mexico. Taxpayer funded Iron County Medical Center now chapter 9 bankrupt busted. Administrators are also asking voters to approve a sales tax hike to increase funding of the hospital.
Montana: A now former CFO of Rocky Boy Health Clinic spending 12 months in prison for fraud.
Nebraska: Methodist Hospital halting home health and hospice services in March, affecting 40 jobs.
New Hampshire: LRGHealthcare shutting down its maternity ward by the end of May. Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital shutting down its maternity ward, 12 jobs gone mid-July.
New Jersey: Israel based Teva Pharmaceuticals suddenly laid off 46 people in Parsippany, as part of its plan to eliminate 18-thousand jobs globally.
New Mexico: University of New Mexico Hospital being sued by a former immigrant employee who says co-workers bullied her because of her accent. The state health department is facing lawsuits claiming conflict of interest in how Medicaid contracts are awarded, such a lawsuit by Molina Healthcare has been thrown out of court, but other lawsuits are pending.
New York: Pfizer issued a shutdown WARN for its Rouses Point drugs factory, 82 jobs affected by March. Cayuga Centers eliminating 120 jobs as it halts residential treatment ops, blaming ObamaCare-ACA for the loss of $2-million USD since July 2017! On-demand tele-health company Teledoc reported a loss of $106.8-million, possibly in connection with its take-over of rival Best Doctors. A U.S. District Judge found the now former drugs company CEO Martin Shkreli (the one who jacked-up prices outrageously) guilty of frauding investors and causing the companies he worked for to lose a combined total of $10.4-million. Nassau University Medical Center spent two days eliminating $674-thousand worth of salaried and contracted jobs, in an effort to save $1.67-million for “mission critical” jobs. Taxpayer funded Hunter College is suing one of its nurses after it discovered the nurse is living in the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing dorm, and has been for the past 40 years. Local news reports say that particular nurse isn’t the only one living in the college dorm as it’s apparently the result of a contract from a discontinued nursing program that dates back to the 1960s.
North Carolina: A doctor at Duke University School of Medicine sued saying the university engaged in hiring collusion with UNC School of Medicine. The case could affect 5-thousand-649 faculty at both universities! Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas HealthCare System) admitted it had reduced working hours for 90 employees since November 2017 and more labor cost cuts were in the planning, which is interesting because Atrium Health is still advertising that it is hiring. Novant Health suddenly eliminated 23 jobs. State investigators fined Strategic Behavioral Health Center $20-thousand for violating patient safety laws. The ‘behavioral’ center was mistreating patients so badly that dozens escaped, which alerted investigators.
Ohio: New York Based Personal Touch Home Care halting ops in Ohio and eliminating at least 257 jobs by mid-April! Memorial Health Systems suddenly laid off 15 people and shifted 1-hundred employees into new jobs, blaming it on an expected reduction in taxpayer funded Medicare spending. Philips Medical Systems eliminating 65 jobs mid-April. Cardinal Health eliminating 101 jobs mid-April!
Oklahoma: The state Department of Health interim commissioner and Cabinet Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology resigned after being accused of domestic violence.
Oregon: God powerless to stop ‘his’ Adventist Medical Center from eliminating 157 jobs in Portland!
Pennsylvania: A now former UPMC Health Plan director is spending two years in federal prison for stealing $846-thousand USD from UPMC, by creating ‘ghost workers’ on the payroll.
South Carolina: Regional Medical Center suddenly laid off an undisclosed number of people, an audit last month revealed the hospital lost $7-million USD, administrators warned of more layoffs saying “We are in very challenging times.” Medical University of South Carolina revealed it fired 13 employees for espionage-ing patient records, in 2017.
Tennessee: Franklin based Community Health Systems reported a loss of $2-billion USD in their fourth quarter of 2017, despite selling-off hospitals! More Community Health Systems owned hospitals will be sold-off in 2018.
Texas: Dallas based Tenet Healthcare reported a $230-million USD loss in its fourth quarter of 2017, despite $5-billion in revenues, despite killing 2-thousand jobs nationwide and despite taking advantage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Utah: State legislators advanced a bill to the state Senate that would prohibit hospitals and health systems from testing a doctor’s competency! 20 volunteers at University of Utah Hospital are ensuring no patient dies alone, it’s part of a growing movement called No One Dies Alone.
Vermont: It was revealed that Brattleboro Memorial Hospital paid state and federal regulators $1.7-million USD to settle claims that it submitted false outpatient laboratory claims to Medicaid and Medicare.
Virginia: University of Virginia Health System ‘exposed’ data of more than 1-thousand-8-hundred patients over 17 months.
Washington: Skagit Regional Health revealed it had laid off 94 people and shutdown 36 vacant positions during the past seven months, due to $17-million USD in losses since 2016.
Washington DC: The former CMO of United Medical Center says he was fired for blowing the whistle on the hospital’s “malfeasance affecting patient health and safety” and “submission of fraudulent statements to Medicare and Medicaid.” The Internal Revenue Service hitting employers with fines for violating ObamaCare-ACA employee insurance mandate. Federal Health and Human Services new Conscience and Religious Freedom division received more than 3-hundred complaints since 18JAN2018.
Wisconsin: Marshfield Clinic Health System reported a loss of $17-million USD directly blaming lower reimbursements on the halting of cost sharing taxpayer funded subsidies to ObamaCare-ACA. Agnesian HealthCare hit by federal lawsuit accusing it of a doctor kick-back Medicare scam. Mike Flint Enterprises-Interim Healthcare of Wisconsin-Mallatt’s Homecare Pharmacy eliminating 168 jobs starting in April!
Wyoming: Campbell County Health-Powder River Surgery Center lost $200-thousand USD as a result of Medicaid and Medicare billing delays caused by recent changes to the hospital system, including software upgrades, however they still reported an overall profit in 2017.
ObamaCare (ACA) death spiral January 2018: “INADEQUATE MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT RATES”