Recent cost-cutting measures set in place by Billings (Mont.) Clinic have no direct link to its ongoing merger negotiations with Kalispell, Mont.-based Logan Health, and talks on that remain on schedule, a spokesman for Billings Clinic told Becker's.
The financial stability plan from Billings Clinic includes several measures ranging from reducing executive compensation, not filling open executive leadership positions and freezing contributions to employee retirement plans through 2023.
"It's not related to the potential joining of our systems," community relations manager Zach Benoit told Becker's. "There are active merger discussions and our timeline hasn't changed."
The two systems said they were hoping for a definitive agreement on the merged entity in the spring in the original Feb. 15 release detailing the plan.
Recruiting and retaining staff is a major challenge to multiple health systems across the country, and few have been public with decisions to forgo contributions to retirement accounts. Oklahoma City-based OU Health is one of the few others that have openly decided to do that on a temporary basis.
"It is a hard thing to hear — nobody wants to be hearing about the struggles or the related measures having to address these challenges," Mr. Benoit said. "It's a very personal thing; we have heard from a lot of people about how they know we have to do this and, while they don't always like it, they know it is something we need to do."