One of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems is making a significant move that underscores the growing financial pressure facing healthcare providers and the ripple effects that pressure is having on revenue cycle operations. Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health confirmed that it is eliminating 10.5% of positions within its revenue cycle department as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and protect long-term financial sustainability, according to published reports. The system did not disclose how many employees will be affected, but local reporting indicates revenue cycle staff are spread across as many as 15 states.
According to Trinity Health, the job reductions are tied to a decision to transition certain non-patient-facing revenue cycle functions to an external partner. The health system cited a familiar mix of industry challenges: reimbursement rates that fail to keep pace with the cost of care, ongoing staffing shortages, and rising expenses tied to caring for uninsured and underinsured patients.
Revenue cycle roles in healthcare typically include medical coding, billing, and other back-office functions that support payment and reimbursement. Trinity Health did not specify which job categories were impacted or how the reductions would be distributed across its footprint…