Children’s Mercy moves 473 revenue cycle staff to Ensemble, cuts 115
- Children’s Mercy is moving 473 revenue cycle and scheduling employees to Ensemble Health Partners.
- The hospital eliminated 115 positions, about 1.2% of its workforce.
- Children’s Mercy’s cuts primarily target administrative, leadership and support positions.
- Children’s Mercy is one of only 28 independent, freestanding U.S. children’s hospitals.
MISSOURI, UNITED STATES — Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City is moving 473 employees in its revenue cycle and scheduling departments to Ensemble Health Partners, an external contractor that will handle those operational services.
The hospital also eliminated 115 positions on Nov. 2, about 1.2% of its workforce, mostly in administrative, leadership and support roles.
Revenue cycle work goes to Ensemble
The transfer to Ensemble came alongside the job cuts, KCTV5 reported on Nov. 2.
In all, the restructuring moved nearly 500 employees to the outside contractor, while affected staff were notified throughout the day.
Costs and reimbursement behind the cuts
A hospital spokesperson attributed the restructuring to escalating operating costs and insurance reimbursement rates that fail to keep pace.
The spokesperson said the changes are necessary to safeguard the hospital’s long-term financial health.
“We continue to evolve our organizational structure to ensure we can remain one of only 28 independent, freestanding children’s hospitals in the country, focused on kids,” the hospital said in a statement.
CEO apologizes for broken pledge
In an internal letter to staff, President and CEO Alejandro Quiroga, M.D., apologized for breaking an earlier pledge that layoffs would not occur.
“Over the past year, I said I wouldn’t do layoffs, and I meant it,” Quiroga wrote.
He said the hospital had pursued position control, voluntary retirement programs and normal attrition.
“They helped. But they did not get us where we needed to be,” he wrote.
Cuts not about performance
Quiroga stressed that the cuts do not reflect employee performance.
“They did not fail us. The organizational structure changed, and that decision affected them. For that, I am deeply sorry,” he wrote.
Children’s Mercy held a town hall that afternoon for remaining staff to outline the transition and address next steps.
What it means for providers
Children’s Mercy is handing its revenue cycle and scheduling work to an outside firm while cutting 115 administrative, leadership and support roles. The 473 employees moving to Ensemble outnumber the eliminated positions roughly four to one.
Hospitals weighing revenue cycle management (RCM) or broader healthcare outsourcing can compare partners on OA’s list of the top healthcare outsourcing companies in the United States.
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