Detroit, Michigan-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a healthcare insurer and operating as an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, has announced that prior to engaging in involuntary layoffs, it is offering buyouts to approximately 8,500 non-union employees in the company and its many of its subsidiaries. After consultations with the unions, the offer may be extended to 2,600 union employees.
The decision is driven by the need to reduce operational costs in a time of declining patient loads and lower reimbursement payments.
According to a company spokesperson, "There are significant financial headwinds on the horizon and our health insurance business remains challenged by administrative costs. We are at a point where we've decided to slow our hiring activity."
Daniel J. Loepp, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, noted, "Nobody could have predicted the great disruption to our lives that the coronavirus pandemic brought over these past months. Many of us have lost family, friends and neighbors to COVID-19. Each of our lives — at home and at work — has been fundamentally changed by the events of this year. Some of you have expressed to me, personally, an interest in reordering your work-life balance or doing something new.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?