Study: 6,000 jobs at stake

Medicare cuts scheduled to kick in next year could cost Connecticut more than 6,000 jobs, according to a new study, of nearly 500,000 jobs nationwide, with hospitals expected to absorb the brunt of the cuts.

Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Tripp Umbach published the findings as part of a study supported by hospital, physician and nursing associations.

The Budget Control Act of 2011 mandates a 2 percent cut in Medicare spending between 2013 until 2021. The Tripp Umbach model reflects how reductions in Medicare payments for health care services affects employment for direct health care jobs and indirect jobs supported by spending.

“When the businesses that were historically allotted the funds from Medicare face these cuts in payment, they must make cuts within their organizations,” Tripp Umbach researchers stated in their report. “Many of these cuts come in the form of spending on products and services, payroll and benefits to existing employees, workforce reduction, etc. These cuts then ripple through the economy ”¦ causing job losses in many sectors beyond health care.”