Aurora eliminating 175 positions

The Freeman reports (link may not be active for long) that Aurora Health Care is eliminating 175 positions. 
Forty positions in Summit will be affected.

This is what grabbed my eye, emphasis mine.

“I’ve talked to you numerous times over the past two years about the economy. It’s still an issue, for us and other health care systems in our state. Overall fewer patients are visiting our hospitals, we have more bad debt, more charity care, increased levels of Medicaid with its associated low reimbursement and increased pension costs,” he wrote. “The impact from these economic factors on our financial performance is significant. For increased pension costs and higher levels of Medicaid, it’s $100 million this year alone.”

Bad debt and charity care should be less of a factor in the future as more of the health care reform begins.  As more and more people are covered by insurance, bad debt and charity care should decrease, and people will not be as reluctant to visit hospitals when needed.  As more people have access to health care, our overall health should increase as more preventive care is used rather than last-minute emergency room visits that basically only can put a band-aid on long-term problems.
Despite the announced cuts, Aurora Health Care President and CEO Nick Turkal stated that "the number of caregivers we employed at the end of 2009 have risen more than 5 percent year to date."