Tenn. Hospital System Stops 403(b) Match

A news report in The Jackson Sun said the health system’s board made the move on an indefinite basis.”The expense changes we are going through are a last resort,” said Richard Parks, president and CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare, “and certainly meant to be temporary.”

Jan Boud, vice president of communications and human resources, said: “It will have to be evaluated on an ongoing basis,” according to the Sun.

It is estimated that the 403(b) match suspension will save the hospital system as much as $400,000 monthly. The news report said the decision was caused by fewer patients coming to the hospital and larger write-offs of unpaid patient bills from a larger number of uninsured patients than in the past.

An upstate New York health-care system made a similar move for its 403(b) program in early December (see “403(b)s Also Lose the Match’).