The leader of Wichita, Kan.-based Via Christi Health says the system will have to make significant cutbacks because of decreases in reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.
Via Christi has absorbed over $25 million in annual reimbursement cuts from government and private payers since 2013, system CEO Jeff Korsmo said in a memo obtained by Modern Healthcare. The state’s failure to expand its Medicaid program also has left the system with more than $28 million in lost revenue over the past two years, he wrote.
“Our financial pressures have been intensified because of the refusal of Gov. Sam Brownback and the Kansas Legislature to approve expanding the KanCare Medicaid insurance program for the poor and vulnerable,” Korsmo said.
The system has already cut 110 full-time equivalent employees over the past 18 months, but still fell $3.3 million short of its budget for income from recurring operations through the first two months of the year. It’s now looking at reductions in management positions and suspending some capital expenditures as it halts discretionary spending for education, meetings and similar expenses.
