It must be noted that I started documenting these ObamaCare/healthcare related shutdowns at the beginning of 2014. In that year I posted the reports biannually (every six months). In 2015 ObamaCare cutbacks ramped up and I posted quarterly (every three months). For the past four months of 2016 there have been so many ObamaCare cutbacks that I’ve posted a report every month!
Incomplete list of healthcare related layoffs and shutdowns, April 2016.
California: In Berkeley, Sutter Health shutting down their Alta Bates Summit ER operations. But wait, don’t blame ObamaCare on this one. It’s the result of a 1994 state regulation (SB 1953) requiring hospitals to meet tougher earthquake survival standards, by 2030. In Temecula, Abbott Vascular continues with its medical device layoffs, this time 131 people laid off without warning at the beginning of April! In Pacoima, after 50 years (and surviving several robberies) Laurel Pharmacy shutdown. Owner Barry Wise was hoping somebody could takeover the business, “But I couldn’t find a buyer, so it’s sad.” San Francisco based health tech diagnostic company Counsyl laid off 27 people, despite boasting of “double digit” demand for their carrier screening services. More proof ObamaCare is a failure: “Something has to give. Either insurers will drop out or insurers will raise premiums. The industry is clearly setting the stage for bigger premium increases in 2017”-Larry Levitt, Kaiser Family Foundation commenting on the ObamaCare “correction”
Connecticut: Danbury based IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics is reporting that for the second year in a row, since ObamaCare went into effect, U.S. residents will be paying more for their prescription drug fix, and it will continue going up until at least 2020. Immucor Transplant Diagnostics issued a shutdown WARN for its Stamford location, 59 jobs lost by the beginning of June. More proof ObamaCare is a failure: “We continue to have serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges.”-Mark Bertolini, Aetna CEO referring to the ‘correction’ of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)
Florida: In Pinellas Park, Transitions Optical laying off 11 people by the end of June. In Panama City, healthcare “revenue cycle” manager Navigant Gymetrix issued a WARN, 60 jobs gone by the end of June.
Hawaii: Taxpayer funded Wahiawa General Hospital is begging for emergency funding to stop it from shutting down. Administrators revealed that since ObamaCare went into effect they’ve lost $9-million USD!
Idaho: The Gem State’s version of ObamaCare is in trouble, news reports reveal that at the end of March a warning letter was sent out to Your Health Idaho employees telling them what to do if a healthcare provider is dealing with a person with life threatening issues, yet doesn’t qualify for Idaho’s version of ObamaCare: “Please be sure to include MEDICAL URGENT in the subject line as well as a detailed description of the client’s situation in the message body.” (this is probably due to the claims by hospital directors that at least 1-thousand Idahoans have died as a direct result of not qualifying for ObamaCare through Your Health idaho) However, an insurance agent in McCall said he deals with insuring people in five other states and compared to them Idahoans have it good: “It’s just an absolute train wreck! I’m licensed in six states, and believe me, in the other five states, it’s even worse.”-Stanley Dean
A Twin Falls woman is in desperate need of brain surgery but doesn’t have enough money to pay for insurance herself, yet also does not qualify for ObamaCare under Your Health Idaho! But wait, that’s not all! It turns out that when she first went to doctors they ignorantly told her she was crazy and didn’t have a physical problem! Finally, after several MRIs she was diagnosed with Chiari malformation: “If it goes untreated, then I will slowly become paralyzed, and from there I will end up on machines. That is something that is a reality for me if I don’t get it taken care of.”-Brittany Long
Yet another hospital manager is condemning Idaho’s version of ObamaCare; Your Health Idaho. Michael Baumann, of the Mountain Division of the Hospital Corporation of America, said “…those who are not getting the care that they need, by the time they show up, it’s even more costly. So why don’t we provide the access up front through Medicaid expansion? ….You know I’m actually fairly conservative, but when it comes to healthcare…..I’m just really open to the fact we need change.”
In Boise, christian healthcare scammer Saint Luke’s Regional Medical Center has been found in violation of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In 2015 an employee reported to the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) that Saint Luke’s was not ‘coding’ certain time off as FMLA. The DoL reviewed two years worth of “hundreds” of employee records and concluded that Saint Luke’s “…failed to ensure that all employees on FMLA-covered leave received all the protections…” Interestingly the DoL determination, and resulting Saint Luke’s resolution actually took place in November 2015, but only now is being made public! In February I reported how Saint Luke’s was caught stealing local property taxes!
Illinois: Maker of hospital administrative software Valence Health suddenly laid off 75 people, including an executive. I should point out that in 2014 the company got at least $11.9-million USD from state taxpayers to create jobs in Obama’s homie town of Chicago. Germany based Siemens Medical shutting down their Wood Dale location by March 2017, at least 29 jobs lost. “Financial” issues forcing Pioneer Center for Human Services to issue shutdown WARNs for its Woodstock and McHenry locations, 103 jobs lost by mid-May! Nathan Health Care shutdown their East Saint Louis nursing home, 87 jobs gone.
Indiana: In LaPorte, after 62 years Hilbish Drug shutting down: “We just got to the point where it was time to move on.”-Tom Hilbish
Kansas: In Hutchinson, after 77 years Fraese Drug Store and Soda Fountain shutdown. A co-owner said ObamaCare and inflation forced him to take a job with a competitor: “We just had no choice but to do this because of decreased payments from Medicaid and Medicare. Also, add into that the huge increase in the cost of generic drugs. A lot of them jumped 1,000%! That really hurt our profitability.”-Don Kaufman
Maine: In Farmington, Franklin Community Health Network laid off a little more than 50% of its employees (mostly full time jobs), blaming $15-million USD in losses on ObamaCare! Administrators say the losses would have been much bigger if they hadn’t received a one-time federal grant. In Portland, Mercy Hospital shutdown its outpatient addiction treatment center, blaming ObamaCare reduction in funding. Mercy is joining with other organizations, including local police, in forming the Greater Portland Addiction Collaborative as a way to provide addiction recovery services for those with little or no health insurance.
Massachusetts: Baystate Health is demanding $10-million taxpayer dollars to avert the layoff of 2-hundred people, due to ObamaCare. Administrators say that’s just for starters, calling it “bridge funding”, if the ObamaCare situation continues then additional taxpayer funding will be needed!
Minnesota: The largest health insurance company in the United States is getting the hell away from ObamaCare! Minnetonka based UnitedHealth joins BlueCross-BlueShield is declaring the Affordable Care Act Dead on Arrival! UnitedHealth will begin exiting ObamaCare plans beginning with the states of Arkansas and Georgia. In 2014 UnitedHealth entered the ObamaCare market, but is getting out while it can still live to tell about it: “It was for us a bad decision. In retrospect, we should have stayed out….”-Stephen Hemsley, CEO
Mississippi: Magee based Pioneer Health Services now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Pioneer Health Services operates hospitals in Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia. Administrators blame ObamaCare reimbursement reductions and the forced shift to outpatient care.
New Hampshire: Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine laying off 30 people, and conducting restructuring that will affect 285 employees! The 285 are being considered for transfer to Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
New Jersey: Middleton shutting down their 911 dispatch, eliminating 15 jobs. 911 services will now be handled by Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department.
New York: Buffalo Cardiology and Pulmonary Associates issued a shutdown WARN for its Williamsville location, 119 jobs gone by mid-May! In Bronx NYC, Saint Barnabas Rehabilitation & Continuing Care Center has been sold to a vulture capitalist, a shutdown WARN has been issued, 254 jobs lost in July! In White Plains, The Esplanade nursing home shutting down due to renovations of the building, 55 jobs lost by mid-July. Quantum Medical Imaging shutting down their medical instrument factory in Ronkonkoma, 83 jobs lost between July and November. NYC based EmblemHealth warning of “several hundred” layoffs in their Information Technology (IT) department! The IT jobs are being outsourced to cheap-o contractors as part of ObamaCare “modernization” of the healthcare industry.
Ohio: Northside Medical Center eliminated 68 full time jobs because ObamaCare has greatly reduced “the community’s usage of services”. In McArthur, after more than 19 years Gill’s Family Pharmacy shutdown. The drug seller has been praised for community service such as buying computers for county first responders. The county of Warren is privatizing its employment service for disabled people, known as Production Services Unlimited, 60 county jobs will be lost. County administrators blame ObamaCare saying they’re following orders from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. After 164 years (surviving The Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) children’s mental health treatment chain Beech Brook forced to eliminate 179 jobs due to Medicaid funding cuts!
Oklahoma: Integris Health notified employees of massive layoffs, blaming Oklahoma’s version of ObamaCare for “…a 25% reduction in provider fees…beginning June 1…” attributed to “…the state’s struggling economy….also…the Affordable Care Act…”
Pennsylvania: In Harrisburg, DST Health Solutions issued a WARN, 107 jobs gone by the end of June!
Puerto Rico: The economy is so bad that CNN reported that one doctor per day is fleeing the U.S. territory! National Public Radio reporting that 50-thousand people flee Puerto Rico every year! You must note that Puerto Rico has true socialized healthcare, and the lack of taxpayer funding, caused by crashing tex revenues, is forcing most doctors to go to Plan B: “Plan B is you have to leave the island because there’s no other way, there’s no choice.”-Antonio Peraza, doctor interviewed for NPR
South Carolina: In Orangeburg, Regional Medical Center laying off 33 employees, cutting hours for 27 and eliminating 30 vacant jobs. Because of ObamaCare the hospital needs to cut $4.9-million USD in expenses!
Texas: In Dallas, Select Medical issued a WARN, 77 jobs gone by the end of May. Massive oil industry layoffs have revealed a major lie about ObamaCare. One of the promises of the Affordable Care Act was that people who were not employed, or who lost their jobs, would still be covered for healthcare under ObamaCare. A Houston Chronicle investigation found that most oil industry survivors have learned they don’t qualify for ObamaCare: “In the U.S., losing your job could mean losing your health insurance. Most other countries don’t do this. …The ACA, if anything, entrenched our dependence on employer-provided health insurance….. That’s the hole. It is contrary to the spirit of the law.”-Jessica Roberts, University of Houston’s Law Center
Virginia: Augusta Health shutting down two Convenient Care clinics located inside Walmarts, by May. Administrators say ObamaCare is pushing people to go to Urgent Care clinics instead.
Washington: In Arlington, Cascade Valley Hospital & Clinics shutting down, 418 jobs lost by the end of May! After prodding by local news, health insurance company Premera Blue Cross admitted it eliminated 165 jobs since November 2015! Employees are pissed because they say corporate administrators never told anybody there were going to be mass layoffs: “Layoffs are handled poorly, allowing rumors to spread like wildfire, creating a horribly negative atmosphere. And instead of owning it and calling it layoffs, it’s referred to as restructuring and the cuts aren’t deep enough the first time around, so everyone knows they’ll be coming again…”-unnamed employee to local news media
ObamaCare job destruction, March 2016: “we have been unsuccessful…we are now forced to close permanently”
ObamaCare = Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification