Health Management Associates, , the for-profit owner of Lehigh Regional Medical Center two Physicians Regional hospitals in Collier County, has announced benefit reductions for its 42,000 U.S. employees in response to cuts in Medicare payments.
The cuts affect more than 1,400 locally and include a freeze on vacation accruals until October, a reduction in the company’s 401(k) retirement benefit match from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and pushing back merit raises until Jan. 1, 2014.
Company officials notified employees on Friday, an announcement made public this week. They primarily blamed the federal budget impasse known as the “sequestration” for the reductions.
“(W)e were deeply disappointed when our nation’s elected officials failed to achieve a balanced budget resulting in sequestration,” said Scott Campbell, CEO of the Naples-based Physicians Regional Healthcare System, in a prepared comment. “As a result, hospitals throughout the country, including ours, are seeing reduced payment for services while the cost of care continues to increase.”