Maine’s second-largest health system is shifting 1,400 employees to an outside health services company.
According to the Portland Press Herald, officials with Northern Light Health say the move will save the system $1 billion over 10 years.
The employees will no longer work for Northern Light Health starting in March, when they begin working for Minnesota-based health services company Optum.
The employees will remain in Maine and retain their jobs with no pay cuts.
The Northern Light employees who are moving to Optum don’t directly care for patients, like doctors and nurses.
The jobs are office-based administrative positions.
Many of the jobs that will be impacted are in Brewer, and about 130 of the positions are located in southern Maine, with many of them being Mercy hospital-based positions.
