Colorado Rural Hospital Cuts 77 Jobs Amid Unpaid Insurance Claims
Montrose Regional Health, a rural Colorado hospital, announced Monday it is eliminating 77 positions, including 34 layoffs and 43 vacant roles left unfilled, to cut $8 million from its budget. The hospital cites $25 million in outstanding insurance payments for care already provided, including claims overdue more than six months, alongside rising labor and supply costs that have outpaced reimbursement. Cuts include three physicians, three advanced practice providers, and 12 leadership roles, and will result in reduced cardiology services in Telluride and scaled-back pediatric occupational therapy, sleep, and pulmonary programs. The hospital did not cite Medicaid reimbursement as a driver, though it acknowledged uncertainty about looming federal Medicaid funding cuts that lawmakers warn could disproportionately hit rural hospitals.