Molina Healthcare to close Dearborn clinic, lay off 120

Aug. 07--Molina Healthcare plans to close its 24-hour Midwest Medical Center in downtown Dearborn on Sept. 30 and lay off all 120 people who work there.

The clinic at 4700 Schaefer offers urgent care, primary care, physical therapy and other services, and serves Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as those with commercial insurance. The clinic is run by the publicly-traded company's subsidiary, Molina Medical Management.

A Molina representative on Monday would not specify the reason for the closure.

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However, the closure announcement follows media reports that the Long Beach, Calif.-based health care and insurance company aims to cut 1,400 jobs in the wake of unexpectedly large financial losses related to individual health insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act.

"We regret the impact this will have on affected employees and we will be providing outplacement assistance and severance to ease the transition," Molina spokeswoman Leigh Woodward said in a statement. "We are working with network providers to ensure that our patients continue to receive the care they need and deserve through our trusted partners."

Molina Healthcare is primarily a managed-care company that has traditionally specialized in lower-income and Medicaid patients.

Earlier this year, it fired its chief executive officer, Dr. J. Mario Molina, and Chief Financial Officer John Molina. The two men are brothers and sons of company founder Dr. C. David Molina.

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