Blue Cross of Illinois parent company, Health Care Service Corp., announced Tuesday it will slash about 400 positions to ready itself for fast industry growth, according to reports.
The middle management roles will be eliminated “to reduce organizational redundancy and improve decision-making efficiency,” according to HCSC spokesman Greg Thompson in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In general, to best serve our customers now and into the future of the rapidly changing health care landscape, we are rebalancing our resources to meet the diverse needs of our customers, provider partners and other stakeholders,” the email said.
The company has about 24,000 current employees and is expected to add about 1,000 new jobs in customer and provider service, technology and digital capabilities this year, according to Thompson.
Thompson said the company doesn’t plan any additional job cuts.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the layoffs come a month after HCSC got rid of “a few dozen middle management” jobs and six months after CEO Paula Steiner left the company.
In an internal memo about the layoffs, HCSC President Maurice Smith told employees, “We made a number of changes to ensure we have the structure and resources to best serve our members now and into the future, Crain’s reported.
The health care industry is facing a transition from fee-for-service to paying for value, Crain’s reported.
