Major Boston Teaching Hospital Offering Buyouts to 1,600

COURTESY OF BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL

BOSTON (AP) — One of Boston’s most prestigious teaching hospitals is offering voluntary buyouts to 1,600 employees as a way to rein in costs during a period of uncertainty in the health care business.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital said buyouts are being offered because “expenses continue to rise while constraints by government and payers are keeping our revenues flat,” which is “negatively affecting our financial health.”

Hospital officials say layoffs are possible depending on how many people accept a buyout.

Workers must be 60 or older to be eligible for the offer, which includes a year of base pay. Physicians, faculty, and research staff are excluded.

Brigham and Women’s, a 793-bed affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a founding member of Partners HealthCare, the largest health network in Massachusetts. It employs about 16,000 people.