Intermountain will cut pay for doctors and nurse practitioners amid coronavirus pandemic

[OhioChick]

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Intermountain Healthcare — the largest medical provider in the state — will cut pay for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants during the coronavirus outbreak, which an administrator said in a message sent to staff last week is financially necessary amid “the changing needs.”

The salary reduction discussion comes despite the growing demand for medical professionals to respond to the pandemic. Some hospitals across the country are being overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. And the cases in Utah increased to 806 Monday, with more expected in coming weeks, and four reported deaths.

“You’re putting your life on the line, and you’re being possibly exposed,” said one advanced practice provider at Intermountain who’s upset by the changes. The Salt Lake Tribune agreed to identify her only by her position because she fears being fired for speaking out.

“Now they’re reducing pay with the people who are on the front lines,” she added. “It’s just a slap in the face.”



Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/03/30/intermountain-is-cutting/

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Snip~ "The Tribune spoke with four staff members at Intermountain facilities. Their identities and employment were verified, but /he Tribune has agreed not to name them due to their fear of retaliation."

This is fucked up on so many levels.

[orwell]

1. It's all about the Benjamins...

...and the body bags...

[ashredux]

2. Private business of healthcare....hmmm...it ain't working folks

[cstanleytech]

6. Private healthcare only works for those with money..............otherwise its shit. nt

[GoneOffShore]

14. As my cardiologist here in France said: You don't have healthcare. You have a health industry.

And he smiled, ruefully.

And charged my credit card 70€ for a consult including an ECG which he performed.

I got back 40€ of that.

[Chicago1980]

3. What about the CEO?

He/she gonna take a pay cut too?

[OhioChick]

4. Yeah, right n/t

[cstanleytech]

5. Sounds like pure unadulterated assholeness by the people running Intermountain.

[modrepub]

7. Insurance Industry/Health Care Cash Reserves

Was thinking of this this morning. Much like banks, we need to start thinking of stress tests for health insurance companies and hospital systems. With people loosing insurance due to layoffs, cash in-flows are being reduced for the health insurance industry. On the hospital side, health insurance companies are notoriously late with payments so how are hospitals going to deal with (lots of) drawn out reimbursement arguments (not to mention people who lost their health insurance)? And probably more important, how much of a "hair cut" did the health insurance companies and hospital endowments take when the stock market crashed? That's the $10M question. Don't look for your local news paper to ask those types of questions (or you local politician to answer them).

[duforsure]

8. Some are starting to close down

In rural area's from not enough funding, and these groups cutting pay for its medical people will only increase that soon in many places where they cut and run from seeing they'll be stiffed by trump too. trumps reductions with Medicare , Medicaid , and undermining the ACA to reduce the numbers of people insured has only made it worse for some hospitals to survive. Now with trumps refusals to help them , they see the writing on the wall from trump. When doctors and nurses get past this crisis they will show how trump was MIA for them when help was needed the most. trump stiffed them.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Sounds like their company is using them to jockey for bailout money.

[Roy Rolling]

10. Capitalism

We are seeing, in real time how capitalism doesn’t work for healthcare.

In times of crisis, it jacks up the prices it was supposed to suppress with giant buying power of the free market. In times of health, they jack up prices to levels of “what the market will bear”.

Unfettered Capitalism doesn’t work in healthcare.

[KSNY]

11. National, single payer healthcare for all will save lives

[Scarsdale]

13. Amen. Too late for many

unfortunately, but it should be a right for all. The gop keeps telling us it would be too expensive to start up, but look at the cost private healthcare already costs people. Where are the TRILLIONS coming from to bail out airlines, gun manufacturers, hotels, etc? No problem there, since the gop will have their sticky fingers in every pie. It took tRump and the gop less than 4 years to drain the Treasury and destroy the country. We are still not aware of many other dirty deals these cretins have made. Make America Great Again - re-elect the orange MORAN.

[Canoe52]

16. "But we can't afford it!" bullshit, at this point we can't not afford it.

[FiveGoodMen]

22. Yes, we need a candidate who believes in that

[ArizonaLib]

12. Red state health care

Caring for the health of the bottom line.

[MarianJack]

15. So, screwing the front line people when you need them the most.

What a good idea!

RESIST

[lark]

17. Fascism is getting started now, this pandemic is freeing them to hurt us more, on purpose.

They (Russian Repug oligarchs) intend to use this to destroy our liberal democracy and Hair Furor is all in on stealing the 500 billion for himself and rw friends with zero repayment - guaranteed. It's our social security and medicare and medicaid he will steal instead, thereby having the greateat transfer of wealth in history - sucking everything out of workers/poor pockets and giving it all to themselves.

[progree]

18. Staff being cut too -- Essentia Health in Duluth Minnesota, others considering

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-in-minnesota-hospitals-begin-to-cut-staff-reduce-hours-before-patient-surge/

Coronavirus In Minnesota: Hospitals Begin To Cut Staff, Reduce Hours Before Patient Surge, 3/31/20

Essentia Health in Duluth cut 500 non-medical staff. Fairview Health Services says it’s looking at reducing staffing. They report revenue is down as elective and non-critical procedures have been postponed. And there’s an increase in spending for new equipment and supplies.

... M Health Fairview says it’s evaluating staffing needs at all positions, levels and specialties and facilities. It’s the result of an expected revenue decline of one-third. ... It expects to reduce hours beginning April 6, and go through May 3. Employer benefits will still be paid during that time.

WCCO has also learned that some staff at HealthPartners’ facilities are seeing reduced hours, a temporary movement to another department, or the use of time-off or other leave practices. But so far, no layoffs.

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-in-minnesota-essentia-places-500-on-unpaid-leave-as-revenue-declines/

Coronavirus In Minnesota: Essentia Places 500 On Unpaid Leave As Revenue Declines, 3/31/20

The move affects about 3% of the health care provider’s workforce and involves non-medical staff.

The Duluth, Minnesota-based health care provider says it’s projecting a 20% to 40% decrease in revenue due to fewer patients because of COVID-19.

Those placed on leave will be able to keep their health insurance for now, the release said.

[eilen]

23. My hours are cut. I have been called off half the week.

I am in upstate. My husband doesn't agree to allow me to travel nurse. So I wait for patients to start coming to my hospital. I hear they will start sending transfers from city hospitals so hopefully will be put to work soon. But not getting paid, not working, not earning benefits.. very weird as I have not experienced this as a nurse before. What complicates things is even if I could get a second job at a LTC, I am hesitant because I don't trust they will have the PPE, plus they may have frozen their hiring just in case a new employee has the rona and is asymptomatic. Our homecare nurses are being turned away by their patients.

[Hoyt]

19. Not every physician specialty is seeing increased demand. Many of those specialists are seeing a

significantly less patients in all this. Not every doctor seeing an increased workload because of CV19, in fact most aren't. Many medical practices have completely shut down for safety reasons or because patients are putting off visiting doctors.

Where you work, do you think your pay might get reduced 20% if your workload decreased by 40%, especially if your employment contract is based upon workload?

That appears to be the case here.

Daron Cowley, a spokesman for Intermountain Healthcare, told Newsweek that no pay cuts have yet taken place, but a "limited" number of physicians and advanced practice providers who experience "significant reductions to their workload" may have their compensation adjusted from June.

https://www.newsweek.com/utah-medical-provider-pay-cuts-coronavirus-pandemic-1495247

[turbinetree]

20. Don't just love for profit health care...................onward damn the torpedoes

full steam ahead with that libertarian BS...................greed is good BS......................."the changing needs BS"...................

[marble falls]

21. Did they cut company officers' pay? Did they cut dividends off for the duration?