Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy is planning to lay off up to 300 people across four states this month, and the health system is attributing the workforce reduction to a lack of Medicaid expansion in most of the states it serves, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.
In a written statement, the system said it is "managing the impact of market changes, including reimbursement reductions from government and commercial payers, lack of Medicaid expansion in most of the states we serve and declining inpatient utilization," according to the report.
"We have been expecting and preparing for these changes for several years and have made tremendous progress in redesigning the health delivery system to meet evolving needs," the statement said.
Nonprofit Mercy includes 40,000 employees across seven states, making it the sixth largest Catholic health system in the country. Cuts are not planned for those positions involved in direct patient care, according to the report.
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