PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s largest hospital group will look to cut costs after finishing the 2019 fiscal year with a net loss of $35 million, the CEO said Wednesday.
Lifespan President and CEO Timothy Babineau said those measures include an early retirement plan with the goal of returning to the black in 2020. Layoffs will be a last resort, he added.
The system reported income of almost $24 million in the 2018 fiscal year, and income of nearly $27 million in the 2017 fiscal year.
Lifespan operates Rhode Island Hospital as well as Miriam, Newport and Bradley hospitals and is the state’s largest private employer.
Babineau attributed the loss in the 2019 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 to several factors, including a dramatic reduction in Medicare funding following a change in the federal government’s formula for determining rates.
He said a decision to close Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket in late 2017 by another hospital group has put “excessive demands” on Rhode Island Hospital and Miriam. The number of Medicaid patients using Miriam’s emergency room jumped 30% last year, according to Lifespan.
Also, many people with private insurance are now seeking care in Boston, he said.
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