UCare Lays Off About 102 Employees in Minneapolis as Medicaid Contracts Shift
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. UCare, the nonprofit health insurer headquartered in Minneapolis, announced layoffs of about 102 employees. According to MinneapoliMedia, the cuts began October 2 and will continue through November; the company filed a federal WARN notice with the state, listing its offices at 600 Stinson Boulevard.
The layoffs follow a reshuffling of Minnesota Medicaid contracts: coverage UCare previously administered in a number of counties shifted to rival insurer Medica, with the changes taking effect October 1. UCare said the resulting drop in enrollment forced it to scale back operations and customer-service staffing.
Founded in 1984, UCare has long provided government health plans for low-income residents, seniors and people with disabilities across Minnesota. The company said it will support affected employees through the transition and work to keep members' care and benefits continuous during the contract change. The reshuffle has also stirred debate about the place of nonprofit insurers in the state's Medicaid market.
The layoffs became public because the federal WARN Act requires larger employers to notify the state and affected workers ahead of mass layoffs. Minnesota's Medicaid program covers a large share of the state's low-income residents, seniors and people with disabilities, so every redistribution of managed-care contracts affects the care networks of tens of thousands of members. State officials have said transition arrangements are in place, that most existing care relationships can continue through the transition, and that members who hit obstacles can seek help from state consumer services. For UCare, the open question after losing several county contracts is how a nonprofit insurer with more than four decades of history restructures and defends its place in the state's health coverage market.
Photo: Minneapolis skyline across the Mississippi River, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, Guywelch2000
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 明尼阿波利斯天际线与密西西比河，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0，Guywelch2000
