‘Structural transformation’ announced at Geisinger Health Plan

Terry Gilliland, MD, president and CEO of Geisinger, on Tuesday notified all Geisinger employees of a “structural transformation” at the Geisinger Health Plan.

Christopher Murphy, official spokesperson for Geisinger, said it is expected that most of the affected employees will transition to other jobs within the Geisinger system. He said there are 1,200 total employees in the Geisinger Health Plan department — of which 100 will “transition.”

“GHP remains committed to provide our members with high quality service and that will not change,” Murphy said. “The goal here is to make the GHP sustainable after a very difficult year.”

In Gilliland’s email to all Geisinger employees, he said, “Earlier this week, we made the difficult decision to eliminate nearly 100 Geisinger Health Plan (GHP) positions as part of an operational restructuring. There are no staff reductions elsewhere at Geisinger. In fact, we’re currently recruiting for approximately 2,500 open positions system-wide, and expect many impacted GHP employees to transition into new roles within Geisinger.”

Gilliland said GHP has had financial challenges over the last few years, including a $231 million operating loss last year.

“While the plan is performing much better this year, it’s still operating at a loss,” Gilliland said in the email. “GHP is an integral part of our system, and it’s critical that we achieve financial stability. These staff reductions are necessary to ensure that GHP continues to be a valued local participant in the health insurance market which, unfortunately, is dominated by large competitors.”

Gilliland said Geisinger’s reimbursements, particularly from Medicare, do not cover the cost of the care GHP members receive. He said prescription drug cost increases continue to accelerate, and the people Geisinger cares for in rural Pennsylvania tend to be older and sicker with complex healthcare needs.

“The good news is that when we combine the resources and capabilities we have in our clinical enterprise with GHP, we have the opportunity to change the trajectory of GHP’s rising cost of care, allowing us to continue to offer high-quality, affordable care to the people of rural Pennsylvania,” Gilliland wrote. “GHP has a lot to be proud of. Our membership remains strong and GHP’s Medicare plans each earned 4.5 out of 5 Stars in 2024. That rating distinguishes GHP from the vast majority of health plans in the country that earned Star Ratings in 2024. I’m confident that GHP will have a successful turnaround while continuing to provide excellent health coverage and access to quality care for people in our communities.

“Please lean in and support GHP and our colleagues who work there. Together, we can ensure our integrated healthcare delivery system continues to work for our patients, members and community,” Gilliland said.