The closures and restructuring have affected both healthcare workers and communities seeking access to care.
In fact, Massachusetts’ most recent Center for Health Information and Analysis report found that more than half of its hospitals are operating in the red, with two-thirds of hospitals and health systems consistently losing operations money. The median operating margin for hospitals in the state was a negative 0.9% through June 2024.
“This remains a perilous time for every Massachusetts hospital and health system,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Hospital Association said in a Feb. 10 statement shared with Becker’s. “They have done everything in their power to maintain world-class care for their patients over the past several years, but it has come at an alarming — and unsustainable — cost. Those financial pressures are only intensifying and we are continuing to see the consequences play out in real time. Our commonwealth must come together to set the state’s most essential sector on a road to recovery, especially given the wait times and access challenges patients are now experiencing.”
Labor accounts for more than 60% of Massachusetts hospital operating costs, according to the MHA. “Given the shortage of 10,000-plus healthcare workers in Massachusetts, providers are perhaps spending more than ever to recruit and retain talented individuals,” the MHA spokesperson said.
In early February, Mass General Brigham shared that it would be consolidating nonclinical and administrative positions as the system faces a projected $250 million budget gap within two years. While the number of affected employees was not disclosed, a spokesperson for Mass General Brigham said in a Feb. 10 statement shared with Becker’s that the system is dealing with the “same unrelenting pressures affecting many healthcare systems across the country” and is taking steps to “enhance efficiency, reduce costs and maximize support for front-line clinicians.”
The Boston Globe reported Feb. 10 the layoffs are expected to come in two rounds with hundreds affected. Mass General Brigham, which employs around 82,000 people, will contact the first round the week of Feb. 10 and the second round in March.
Baystate Health also cut 98 positions —less than 1% of its workforce —in early February amid the system’s $225 million transformation plan to focus on strategic growth and core operations. The layoffs come after the system also cut 134 leadership roles in November 2024, before initiating its $225 million transformation plan.
Baystate said in a statement shared with Becker’s that it is working to find alternative positions for employees who were laid off, with eligible employees who are not transitioned receiving severance pay and other job support like career-transition service access. The system will also continue to “aggressively” recruit and hire physicians, bedside care givers and advanced practice providers.
In late January, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health shared plans to close Canton, Mass.-based Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children and move its programs to Westfield, Mass.-based Western Massachusetts Hospital. The decision came after a state study found that the hospital was not able to accommodate the high-acuity care and technology that many of the children with significant disabilities at the facility needed. More than 225 employees will be affected by the relocation, which will occur in 2025.
The closure and relocation of services has received backlash from organizations like the Massachusetts Nurses Association, who have urged Gov. Maura Healey to reconsider the closure of the “vital institution.” However, Ms. Healey is reportedly revisiting plans to close the hospital, Boston 25 News reported Jan. 31.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health eliminated jobs to help navigate rising costs in late September 2024. While BILH did not reveal how many roles were affected, a spokesperson for the system said in a Sept. 28 statement shared with Becker’s that significant cost increases, a changing patient care trend and a limited reimbursement environment led to its decision.
Lastly, Steward Health Care closed two of its Massachusetts hospitals, Dorchester-based Carney Hospital and Ayer-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center on Aug. 31, 2024, after the for-profit health system sought Chapter 11 protection May 6, 2024. The closures resulted in a combined 1,243 layoffs.
Steward also closed its already nonoperational Norwood (Mass.) Hospital and four associated satellite facilities in November 2024.
“Life After Steward: Where Massachusetts Hospitals Stand Now,” a November 2024 study by MHA that looked at where things stood once Steward had mainly exited the state, found a 10% increase in length of stay, up to 2,000 “stuck patients,” a $200 million shortfall and more than 15,000 vacancies at state hospitals.
Alan Sager, PhD, professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University School of Public Health, said in a Feb. 11 statement shared with Becker’s that it’s not clear whether the state’s caregivers have a “revenue problem or a cost problem,” but a durable remedy is not more money for business as usual.
“Protecting patient access and sustaining our vital caregivers requires preparing healthcare for the day when added revenue ceases to grow,” Dr. Sager said. “A good way to start would be for states like Massachusetts to identify needed physician, hospital and nursing home capacity, to gauge the budgets required to finance efficient delivery of needed care and to seek ways to shift dollars so revenue matches need.”
Becker’s has reached out to Ms. Healey’s office and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for comment and will update this story should more information become available.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 11 at 12:32 p.m. CT.
