One of Montana’s largest health clinics that serves people in poverty has cut back services and laid off workers. The retrenchment mirrors similar cuts around the country as safety-net health centers feel the effects of states purging their Medicaid rolls.
Billings-based RiverStone Health is eliminating 42 jobs this spring, cutting nearly 10% of its workforce. The cuts have shuttered an inpatient hospice facility, will close a center for patients managing high blood pressure, and removed a nurse who worked within rural schools. It also reduced the size of the clinic’s behavioral health care team and the number of staffers focused on serving people without housing.
RiverStone Health CEO Jon Forte said clinic staffers had anticipated a shortfall as the cost of business climbed in recent years. But a $3.2 million loss in revenue, which he largely attributed to Montana officials disenrolling a high number of patients from Medicaid, pushed RiverStone’s deficit much further into the red than anticipated.
“That has just put us in a hole that we could not overcome,” Forte said.
RiverStone is one of nearly 1,400 federally funded clinics in the U.S. that adjust their fees based on what individuals can pay. They’re designed to reach people who face disproportionate barriers to care. Some are in rural communities, where offering primary care can come at a financial loss. Others concentrate on vulnerable populations f …
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One of Montana’s largest health clinics that serves people in poverty has cut back services and laid off workers. The retrenchment mirrors similar cuts around the country as safety-net health centers feel the effects of states purging their Medicaid rolls.
Billings-based RiverStone Health is eliminating 42 jobs this spring, cutting nearly 10% of its workforce. The cuts have shuttered an inpatient hospice facility, will close a center for patients managing high blood pressure, and removed a nurse who worked within rural schools. It also reduced the size of the clinic’s behavioral health care team and the number of staffers focused on serving people without housing.
RiverStone Health CEO Jon Forte said clinic staffers had anticipated a shortfall as the cost of business climbed in recent years. But a $3.2 million loss in revenue, which he largely attributed to Montana officials disenrolling a high number of patients from Medicaid, pushed RiverStone’s deficit much further into the red than anticipated.
“That has just put us in a hole that we could not overcome,” Forte said.
RiverStone is one of nearly 1,400 federally funded clinics in the U.S. that adjust their fees based on what individuals can pay. They’re designed to reach people who face disproportionate barriers to care. Some are in rural communities, where offering primary care can come at a financial loss. Others concentrate on vulnerable populations f …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]