MetroHealth to cut 450 jobs as charity care rises

MetroHealth System plans to cut 450 jobs as the Cleveland safety-net hospital faces an increasing amount of uncompensated care.

The job cuts are expected to hit patient-facing employees, as well as supervisory and administrative workers. About 150 of the 450 cuts will be achieved by not replacing employees who have left, The Plain Dealer reported.

MetroHealth last month said it was freezing hiring to head off an anticipated $6 million operating loss.

Hospital officials blamed some of that anticipated loss on an increase in charity care. Charity care at Metro has increased about 8 percent this year compared to the same period last year, according to The Plain Dealer.

Like other publicly funded hospitals across the country, MetroHealth faces an uncertain future amidst financial pressures and uncertainty over the effect of last year’s controversial federal health reform package, which could take a bite out of public hospitals’ patient base.