MedCity morning read, Friday, Feb. 6

Salary freezes and layoffs are possible at MetroHealth System this year to keep the hospital at least even with rising costs, according the The Plain Dealer.

The safety-net hospital for Cuyahoga County told employees Wednesday that it made a slim profit in 2008 — that during a year of management turnover and financial turnaround.

The hospital system reported unaudited profit of $691,000 on revenues of $685.9 million last year, The Plain Dealer said.

In 2007, MetroHealth lost $2.2 million. The hospital lost $8 million in the first quarter of 2008 alone, the paper reported.

“We were able to climb out of that deep hole and finish out a break-even year,” MetroHealth interim Chief Executive Mark Moran wrote in a note to employees on Wednesday.

In an interview with The Plain Dealer, Moran said his hospital system faces another tough year. MetroHealth is bracing for more uninsured patients as people lose their jobs and employer-paid insurance in the ongoing recession.

As a result, “Everything is on the table,” from salary freezes to layoffs, to help keep the system financially afloat, Moran said.

Since Moran took over in March, he has overseen two staff cuts of about 100 jobs, as well as several procedural and cost-cutting moves designed to solve the system’s past losses.

Other stories worth a read:

• Free medical care for all comes to Cuyahoga County — for two days in May (The Plain Dealer)
• Procter & Gamble looks to exit pharmaceuticals (Reuters/Financial Times)
• Biogen, Dyax ink $84 million IP deal(FierceBiotech)
• Thriving biotech insulates South City from recession(San Francisco Examiner, via FierceBiotech)
• Cigna finds fashionable way to boost profit: Cut bonuses (WSJ Health Blog)
• Study: Medical facilities defer projects (Orlando Business Journal)