Health Partners, one of the largest home healthcare providers in Michigan, laid off 560 employees at the beginning of July, including nurses, nursing assistants, therapists and direct care workers, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
The layoffs occurred July 1 and happened as the Bingham Farms-based company is winding down business. The job losses are attributed to a 2019 state law capping Health Partners' payment rates at 55 percent of what it bills insurance companies to care for injured motorists, said Chad Livengood, a senior editor at Crain's Detroit Business.
Health Partners owner John G. Prosser II, who has been in the home health business for decades, said the company couldn't absorb the losses from the new fee schedule, which cuts payments by 45 percent, according to Crain's.
Other home healthcare companies in Michigan haven't met the same fate as Health Partners because they rely more heavily on Medicaid, workers' compensation insurance or private payers, according to the report.
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