200 employees laid off to “address redundancies”

Nearly a month after saying it would review operations following financial difficulties, Kaiser Permanente Colorado announced Monday that it’s laying off about 200 employees in the state.

Kaiser — the largest insurer in Colorado — said the layoffs are being made to “address redundancies” in administrative and nonpatient-related positions. The affected employees were notified Nov. 2.

“As we have previously shared, we are making operational improvements to ensure we are meeting and exceeding our members’ expectations for quality, service and affordability,” spokeswoman Amy Whited said in an emailed statement. “An important part of this effort is having the right people in the right jobs to best serve our members.”

Last month, Kaiser told The Denver Post it would review operations after recording losses of $65 million for the last three years. The insurer said increasing hospital prices were the main reason for the losses and that it was considering taking a more confrontational approach with hospitals as a result.

Kaiser has more than 8,000 employees in Colorado, part of 290,000 nationwide.

Employees affected by the layoffs will receive 60 days of administrative pay, in addition to severance, a Kaiser spokesperson said.

Kaiser also said there was an “erroneous cancellation of membership” for 6,000 of its Medicaid members on Monday. The insurer did not say what caused the cancellation of those memberships.

Kaiser has about 40,000 Medicaid members in the state.

“It is imperative to note, those affected are still able to receive care at Kaiser Permanente and we are still seeing these members for their appointments today,” the company said in a statement.