Becker's Hospital Review

24 CFO / FINANCE Louisiana Long-Term Care Hospital to Close by June 3 By Alyssa Rege R uston-based LifeCare Specialty Hospital of North Louisiana will shutter its facility and terminate all employees by June 3, according to KSLA-12 News. The 55-bed long-term care hospital is- sued a Worker Adjustment and Retrain- ing Notification stating the first round of layoffs is effective April 15, with all employees scheduled to be laid off by June 3, according to the report. Ap- proximately 168 employees will be af- fected in total. The WARN states LifeCare will offer sev- erance benefits to affected employees. The hospital will also provide re-em- ployment workshops and orientation sessions to reintroduce employees into the workforce, according to the report. A spokesperson for LifeCare told Beck- er's Hospital Review the hospital be- gan notifying employees, patients and physicians of the hospital's impending closure this week. The hospital said it has discontinued accepting new ad- missions and will work with physicians and caregivers to ensure patients who require ongoing care undergo a smooth transition to another facility. Area residents will reportedly contin- ue to have access to inpatient care and specialized post-acute care at LifeCare Hospitals of Shreveport's three facilities in Louisiana. "The healthcare industry is constant- ly evolving and a number of factors influenced our decision to make this change. We appreciate the dedication of our approximately 168 Ruston em- ployees and regret this decision will affect them in a deeply personal way. We are encouraging them to apply for open positions in our other hospitals," a spokesperson for the facility said in a statement to Becker's. n Hospital Stocks Drop as GOP Tries to Revive ACA Replacement Bill By Ayla Ellison M ajor for-profit hospital operators saw their share prices sink on April 4 as Republican leaders sought to re- vive the ACA replacement bill. Top White House officials met with conservative and moderate House Republicans on April 3 to revive a plan to repeal and replace the ACA. GOP leaders proposed a new plan later that night that would al- low states to repeal the ACA's es- sential health benefits requirement and the ACA's community rating, which conservatives say are driving up premiums. On April 4, shares of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings dropped 3.2 percent, shares of Franklin, Tenn.-based Communi- ty Health Systems fell 6.3 percent and shares of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare dropped 4.8 percent, according to Reuters. When Republicans scrapped the American Health Care Act on March 24, most of the major for-profit hos- pital operators saw their share pric- es soar. Their share prices dropped March 28 when House Republicans and the White House restarted dis- cussions on legislation to repeal and replace the ACA. n S&P: ACA Markets Likely to Stabilize This Year By Morgan Haefner S tandard & Poor's Financial Services predicts health insurers selling plans on the ACA individual market will be close, on average, to breaking even this year, if lawmakers don't significantly change the indi- vidual market. is forecast, released April 7, is based on S&P's analysis that most Blue Cross Blue Shield insur- ers saw improved operating performances on the ACA individual market in 2016 compared to 2015. e ratings agency focused on BCBS plans, since they sell coverage on and off the ex- changes and have leading shares of their local individual markets, S&P said. S&P found most BCBS plans saw improved medical loss ratios for 2016, which represent the percentage of premiums insurers pay in claims. BCBS plans experienced a weighted average MRL of 92 percent in 2016, down from 106 percent in 2015. A MRL below 100 percent means insurers had money le over aer paying medical claims. "Our analysis of 2016 results and the market enrollment so far in 2017 shows that the ACA individual market is not in a 'death spiral,'" S&P stated. "But it isn't on a stable footing either." e ratings service said insurers' target profit- ability is still a couple years away because the individual market is in development. In addi- tion, results could be further disrupted by reg- ulatory uncertainty at the federal level. S&P stated "2018 and beyond are still uncer- tain given potential legislative changes to the U.S. health insurance market and the pend- ing legal battles over the cost-sharing reduc- tion subsidy," which assists insurers offering discounted premiums to eligible low-income enrollees. Prolonged uncertainty could lead to higher premium rate increases and more ex- its from the individual market for 2018, S&P states. Analysts said if the market undergoes a few changes rather than an overhaul, the 2018 ACA individual market could be "one of grad- ual improvement," leading more insurers to see positive results. However, if large changes to the individual market or cost-sharing re- duction subsidies occur, "the market essen- tially has to restart with a new set of rules," S&P stated. n

• Cover
• _GoBack