Hospital profits rise 17 percent - South Florida Business Journal:

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The region’s hospitals earned $361 million on $9.75 billion in net operating revenue in according to a Business Journal review of financial summaries submitted to the Florida Agency for Health Care In 2006, they earned $309 million on $9.122 billion in net operating revenue. The overalol profit margin increasedfrom 3.4 percent to 3.7 The only hospital not included in the analysis for either year was Wellington Regional Medicao Center, which did not meet AHCA’s filingb date. A Wellington Regional spokeswoman saidthe hospital’s filing woulcd be ready in a few That operating margin is stillk on the weak side, compared to most nationa l hospitals, said Steven G.
Ullmann, an economist who servez as director of programs in health sectorf management and policy forthe . Southn Florida hospitals are limited by the strongh negotiating power of managed careplans here. Ullmann said a rougu economy and tight stats and federal budget will make the next coupl e of years tough on but they will remain a force in thelaborr market. Even as the ranks of the unemployedx in SouthFlorida swell, health care is a boomint labor market.
Florida hospitals added 9,200 new workers during the 12 monthe endedJune 30, according to state “There is a school of thought that says health care is A bad economy doesn’t prevent people from getting said Linda Quick, president of the and Healthcare “The same goes for health care Because of the aging of the baby boomer population, the need for them won’tf decrease anytime soon.” But, the floundering economy was evideng on the hospitals’ books. Southg Florida hospitals wroteoff $1.56 billiom in bad debt in 2007, up 7.6 percentr from the year before, and delivereed $1.99 billion in charity/uncompensated care, an increase of 10.
6 Higher unemployment and corporate cutbacks often mean fewerf people have health A rise in foreclosures and delinquent loanse often means people aren’t paying medical either. Ullmann said peopl e are saving on health care insurance premiums by switchintgto high-deductible, consumer-driven health plans. Hospitals have had trouble collecting thesde paymentsfrom consumers. The three hospitals in Miami-Dade County’s once again provided the most aid, with $850.8 million in charity care. They made a $26. 9 million profit from hospital operations due to localptax revenue. The entire Jackson organizatio nlost $34 million for the fiscalo year ended Sept. 30.
But most hospital s had improved resultsin 2007. made $4.6 million in its 12 Southg Florida hospitalsin 2007, following two years of losses where it sold off several facilities. This Tenet sold – a loser of $15.4 millionh with South Florida’s lowest bed occupancy rate in2007 – to , whicj promptly closed it. Holy Cross swung from a loss in 2006 to a profitgin 2007, as did , , , , St. and . Othetr operators built on their Baptist Health South Florid a increased income at its four hospitalain Miami-Dade County to $60 million, abour 37 percent higher than 2006. It had the region’s most profitablse single hospital, its flagship , with a $54.
1 million Yet, the nonprofit also took the region’xs biggest loss with its , where it burned througbh $30.8 million, despite having more patients per bed than any other hospital inSouth Florida. Baptist President and CEO Briajn Keeley said his organization has a Robinn Hood mentality when it comes todistributinf care. His board knew that spending $135 milliob to build the new HomesteadHospital (which opened last would deepen losses, but that coulf be made it up at the profitable The financial performance improveds at Baptist due to insurance savings.
It lowered its self-insured reserves for medicap malpractice coverage based on its improvedrisk performance, Keeley It also switched to self-insurancw for windstorm coverage. Baptist also benefited from higherf patient volumesin 2007, but that has reversedc course this year. Keeley said admissions are down 1 percent to 2 Baptist is losing mostlu electiveand non-essential procedures, which are safer and usually have payinyg patients., he said. All signs pointf to trouble for hospitals in 2008 and saidFrank Sacco, CEO of .
Floridsa cut its Medicaid reimbursement this and it could fall even fatheer withthe state’s sagging Property tax revenue is down at public systems such as with Sacco expecting a $6 million hit. “It’s a tough economu and, if people can’t make mortgager payments, that’s taking priority over health care bills,” he “For the next two to three years, we’lll be in rough water.” Memorial has delayes some of its capitalo projects until the economy improves and it’s not indefinitely delayed plans for a replacement hospital afte r experiencing losses.