Latest news with #AnneKlibanski
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘CEOs do not save lives': State physicians rally for state action to cap CEO salaries
Attending and resident physicians from all over Massachusetts gathered for a picket rally outside Boston hospitals. Over 300 physicians gathered to address the large, inflated salaries of hospital execs, sparked by the recent surge in layoffs from Mass General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) while their CEO, Anne Klibanski, earns $6 million a year. Among the supporters were Councilmember Fitzgerald, who publicly expressed solidarity with the healthcare workers' cause, Hessann Farooqi with Boston Climate Action Network, Darlene Lambo with Greater Boston Labor Council, and Katie Murphy, President of Massachusetts Nurses Association The rallies aim to bring attention to legislative proposals S.899 and H.1398, which seek to cap healthcare CEOs' salaries at 50x their lowest-paid employee's. At this time, Kibanski currently brings in 193x the lowest salary of an MGB worker. Physicians also argue that directing some of that pay to things like patient care, staffing enhancements, and essential hospital resources for a more suitable hospital. 'These layoffs seem to target those who reached the top of their pay scales. But what are the tops of these pay scales? These employees' salaries were fractions of what the highest-paid MGB executives make,' said Dr. Dale Davis, a resident physician at BWH. 'This frank unfairness is angering. Time to stand up for our unceremoniously fired colleagues, to stand up for patient care. We WILL make this better!' Tons of frontline doctors struggle to make basic living requirements, while the top healthcare executives in Mass. collectively make upwards of $15 million. 'Let me be clear: CEOs do not save lives. We do. All of us at the hospital do,' said Dr. Tom Ituarte, a resident physician at MGH. 'CEOs do not stay up all night in the ICU, making split-second decisions that determine whether a patient lives or dies. We do. CEOs do not carry the weight of an understaffed and broken hospital system on their backs while still trying to provide the best possible care. We do.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mass General Brigham investing $400 million in cancer care
BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–A week after conducting a second round of layoffs, Mass General Brigham announced a four-year, $400 million investment Tuesday into MGB Cancer as the health care giant braces for its split from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Anne Klibanski, the system's CEO, acknowledged the layoffs as she announced the new investment, which involves renovations at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Faulkner Hospital to create new outpatient spaces. Medicaid cuts may affect millions of Massachusetts residents 'As we navigate a period of challenging but pivotal change, I appreciate your continued dedication to our patients and to each other,' Klibanski wrote to employees in a Tuesday message, which was shared with the News Service. 'Our reorganization and financial stewardship will strengthen our foundation and enable us to make strategic investment in our patients, our care teams and our mission – preparing us for the ongoing headwinds facing our industry.' MGB did not specify how many total workers lost their jobs, though The Boston Globe pegged it at around 1,500 positions across the layoffs in March and February. The system said the layoffs affected mostly management and administrative positions, as MGB contended with a $250 million budget gap over the next two years. MGB argued the layoffs were needed to follow through with planned investments, including for workforce support, new clinical spaces and modernizing facilities. Klibanski said the $400 million commitment will 'advance medical oncology, radiation oncology, cancer surgery, digital pathology, technology upgrades, support staffing, and patient navigation across MGB.' It will also be used to 'recruit top oncologists, implement digital pathology and enhance clinical support staffing,' MGB said. 'We begin this work now with the goal of ensuring that MGB Cancer is fully operational using our own resources, ready to serve patients before the conclusion of our current agreement with Dana-Farber in Fall 2028,' Klibanski wrote. The state Public Health Council on Thursday is slated to vote on a determination of need request from Dana-Farber, which is looking to build its own cancer hospital with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. MGB Cancer plans to 'extensively' renovate three floors at the Brigham's Hale Building for Transformative Medicine in the Longwood area to support outpatient clinical space, plus one floor at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Klibanski said. MGB is also looking to relocate clinical, office and research space in the Longwood area, which the system said is 'currently housed mainly at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.' In other efforts to bulk up oncology services, work is underway at Massachusetts General Hospital, where a new tower is expected to provide 'large-scale new resources for MGB Cancer patients,' Klibanski said. The system is also working on a new exam room and infusion capacity at MGH-Waltham. 'Our goal is to immediately begin to execute on our cancer strategy and provide space for both our existing and new cancer teams to work, perform research and care for patients,' Kevin Giordano, MGB's senior vice president of operations, said in an internal article shared with the News Service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
13-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Bad news for Mass General Brigham is bad news for Massachusetts
Some people love to hate Mass General Brigham. It's too big. It's too expensive. Its executives make too much money. But beyond the countless lives its doctors, nurses, and scientists save each year, MGB, the state's largest health system, is an invaluable asset to the local economy. Its 12 hospitals, physicians group, and other operations employ about one in every eight health care and social assistance workers in the state. The organization brought in more than $1 billion in Its flagship academic medical centers in Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, anchor a health care hub that is arguably the best in the country, if not the world. One-two punch: So even the haters should be alarmed when MGB on Monday announced Advertisement That followed news a few days earlier that NIH would The total hit to Massachusetts universities, hospitals, and research institutions: Why it matters: The NIH grant reductions will likely tighten the financial squeeze on Massachusetts hospitals. Several Reimbursement rates from insurers are growing more slowly than expenses. Lengthier patient stays — the result of sicker patients and discharge delays caused by a shortage of rehab beds — have curbed revenue growth. (Hospitals are paid mainly per patient treated, not length of stay.) Increasing losses on charity care and Medicare and Medicaid services. Just six of the 21 hospital health systems MGB's strategy: MGB has a strong financial foundation thanks to its big investment portfolio. But its operating businesses are essentially running at breakeven. The nonprofit is in the midst of a sweeping effort to streamline operations, reduce expenses, and integrate Mass. General and Brigham so they operate as My colleague Jessica Bartlett, who broke the news of the layoffs on Monday, reported that the cuts are aimed at an administrative and management staff that ballooned as MGB expanded. Front-line clinical workers and support staff won't be affected. 'If we do not take definitive action now to stabilize our financial health, we compromise our ability to continue to invest in our mission,' chief executive officer Anne Klibanski said in a memo to employees obtained by Jessica. Advertisement The numbers: To meet its mission, MGB targets an operating margin — operating revenues minus operating expenses — of about 3 percent, a goal it hasn't reached in a long time. It The operating gain declined from the prior year even as operating revenues rose 9 percent. MGB's bottom line was boosted by $1.95 billion in investment gains, an increase of nearly $1 billion from the previous year. Klibanski has projected an operating loss this year of $250 million even after the layoffs, which are expected to save $200 million annually. However, I am told the organization doesn't expect more headcount reductions, other than from attrition, for at least a couple of years. Big picture: The health care and social services sector has been a bright spot in the otherwise Sector employment is nearly 3 percent higher than it was in February 2020, just before the onset of COVID. The state's overall employment is flat. But hospitals have turned to layoffs to offset rising costs. Beth Israel Lahey Health, the state's second-largest health system, laid off Baystate Health has cut more than 230 jobs since November. After going bankrupt, Steward Health Care closed Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, putting more than 1,200 workers out of a job. Final thought: Mass General Brigham, with ample resources and market clout, is well positioned to weather the financial pressures facing all hospitals. But without significant health care reform at the federal and state levels that address reimbursement rates and regulations, the health care sector's ability to power the Massachusetts economy will be sorely challenged. Larry Edelman can be reached at
