The rash of layoffs happening at hospitals and health systems across the country may be necessary to cut budgets, Ralph de la Torre, MD, CEO of Steward Health Care System in Boston, said at a healthcare forum this week, according to a Boston Business Journal report.
Dr. de la Torre noted that hospitals cannot cut costs significantly without laying off employees and getting rid of beds, according to the report. Reducing unit prices for medical procedures is not enough.
He also pointed out that labor agreements in healthcare often force organizations to lay off the youngest workers, which is not cost efficient. If hospitals could lay off workers in all income levels, for example, savings could add up to $100 million in three years, Dr. de la Torre said, according to the report.
Dr. de la Torre made it clear he was not speaking specifically to Steward, but rather to national trends.