Covenant Health System Lays Off 49 Employees, Cites Affordable Care Act Reimbursement Reductions

Some Covenant Health System employees have been laid off from the hospital system.

According to Covenant Health System, the organization has reduced their staff by 49 people due to reductions in reimbursement from the Affordable Care Act, sequestration cuts to Medicare funding, and other payment reductions.

The system employs approximately 5,400 staff members across the South Plains, and they say that the organization will try to find other positions for employees affected by the reductions.

“Covenant Health is financially stable, but the changes we’ve experienced thus far and will continue to undergo are the direct result of reduced reimbursements and our efforts to make affordable health care services available in our community going forward,” said Richard Parks, executive vice president and CEO of Covenant Health.

Covenant Health also says that they will offer severance packages for some that were laid off, and outplacement services to help those former employees find new positions.