Propublica: Major Medical Staffing Company Just Slashed Benefits for Doctors and Nurses Fighting Cor

[SheltieLover]

[link:https://www.propublica.org/article/coronavirus-er-doctors-nurses-benefits|

SERIES:CORONAVIRUS

A Major Medical Staffing Company Just Slashed Benefits for Doctors and Nurses Fighting Coronavirus
Alteon Health, a staffing company backed by private-equity firm Frazier Healthcare Partners, will cut salaries, time off and retirement benefits for providers, citing lost revenue. Several hospital operators announced similar cuts.

Emergency room doctors and nurses many of whom are dealing with an onslaught of coronavirus patients and shortages of protective equipment — are now finding out that their compensation is getting cut.

Most ER providers in the U.S. work for staffing companies that have contracts with hospitals. Those staffing companies are losing revenue as hospitals postpone elective procedures and non-coronavirus patients avoid emergency rooms. Health insurers are processing claims more slowly as they adapt to a remote workforce.

“Despite the risks our providers are facing, and the great work being done by our teams, the economic challenges brought forth by COVID-19 have not spared our industry,” Steve Holtzclaw, the CEO of Alteon Health, one of the largest staffing companies, wrote in a memo to employees on Monday.

Much more at link! 🤬🤬🤬🤬

[area51]

1. Outrageous.

[crickets]

9. Agreed. K&R

[global1]

2. Is This Happening Because They Smell Some Bailout Or Stimulus Money....

in future phases?

Start laying off Doc's and RN's. Start cutting salaries and benefits.

Let the Doc's and RN's put up a loud protest. Have the American People support these Doc's and RN's that are in the front lines fighting this virus.

Then have - the next stimulus package include monies for hospitals and hospital systems.

This is the way these staffing companies and hospital operators get noticed.

[SharonClark]

3. "non-coronavirus patients avoid emergency rooms" Really?

Are ER doctors and nurses just standing around waiting for non-existent patients? I don't believe it.
And their timing sucks.

[onecaliberal]

4. What the fuck.

[dweller]

5. Vultures !

live upon carrion
😑

✌🏼

[central scrutinizer]

6. The invisible hand of the free marketplace

Isn’t capitalism great?

[Hoyt]

7. Would not be surprised if ER visits are down at this time. Fortunately, nurses and docs

can find employment with a phone call. In fact, this may be a good time to move on for professionals working in a hospital setting. Many private physician offices are closed or have cut back hours.

[dalton99a]

8. Private equity investors have increasingly acquired doctors' practices

Alteon and its private-equity backer, Frazier Healthcare Partners, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Private equity investors have increasingly acquired doctors’ practices in recent years, according to a study published in February in JAMA. TeamHealth was bought by Blackstone Group in 2016; another top staffing firm, Envision Healthcare, is owned by KKR. (The staffing companies have also been implicated in the controversy over “surprise billing.”)

Hospital operators have also announced cuts. Tenet Healthcare, a Dallas-based publicly traded company that runs 65 hospitals, said it would postpone 401(k) matches and tighten spending on contractors and vendors. Emergency room doctors at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have been told some of their accrued pay is being held back, according to The Boston Globe. More than 1,100 staffers at Atrius Health in Massachusetts are facing reduced paychecks or unpaid furloughs, and raises for medical staff at South Shore Health, another health system in Massachusetts, are being delayed. Several other hospitals have also announced furloughs.

“We all feel pretty crestfallen,” another ER doctor employed by Alteon said in a text message. “I did expect support from our administrators, and this certainly doesn’t feel like that.”

At Alteon, Holtzclaw wrote that the measures were necessary despite relief available from the $2 trillion stimulus that Congress passed last week. Those provisions include deferring payroll taxes, suspending reimbursement cuts and receiving advance Medicare payments.