Carolinas HealthCare reduces 1Q loss - Triangle Business Journal:

judonebolayb1394.blogspot.com
Investment losses for the latest quarter totalednearlt $101 million. Chief Financial Officer Greg Gombat anticipates gains in the financiapl market in April and May will erasrthose losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investment earnings forcapitall expenditures. That money is not used for daily The health-care system hopes negotiationes with several lenders will cut its interest expenses tied to variables debt and higher bank-liquidity Those fees are about $1 million per month. Interest expenses in the firstt quarterwere $21.8 million. From an operationalk standpoint, Carolinas HealthCare had a strongfirst quarter, says Russ executive vice president for business developmenyt and planning.
Net operating revenue climbe 8.6 percent to $1.2 billion systemwide. Operating income exceedecd $24.5 million. The health-care systemk saw adjusted discharges — a calculation that gauges patientactivityu — climb 5.2 percent from a year Growth within the health-care system and expensse management “is the primary drive why we’re above budget significantly,” Guerin says. Carolinas HealthCarw spent morethan $106 million on capital projectx in the first quarter.
Projects include new operating roomszat CMC-NorthEast and Carolinas Medical an expansion of CMC-Pineville, a new hospital at CMC-Lincolbn and construction of health-care pavilions in Steeled Creek and Waxhaw, which will include free-standinvg emergency departments. Challenges in the coming monthss include managingthe system’s growing bad-debyt and charity-care costs, reducing interest expensesw and preparing for a possible state cut in Medicaix funding, Gombar says. Bad-debt costs were 12 percen t over budget during thefirst quarter, toppin g $48 million in the first quarter.
During the same period last year, bad debt was about $43 The health-care system spent more than $770 million in community care in 2008, including bad debt, charity care and subsidizing Medicaresand Medicaid. That equals 18.8 percent of the health-care system’d net operating revenue. ”It’s a trend everybody’s seeing across the country,” Gombar “We can’t control how many people are how many people show up at our doorwithou insurance.” North Carolina’s budget woes couldx results in a cut of up to 15 percengt for Medicaid. That could equate to $36 million in annuakl losses forCarolinas HealthCare.
“Medicaid cuts are the worsf economic benefit cut the statecan make,” Gombar “It’s painful.” Says Guerin: “Itg raises prices for those who do pay. It makes no good businesss sense todo that.” Gombar says every dollar cut from Medicai d eliminates $4 from the Carolinas HealthCare is the largest health-care system in the Carolinas and the third-largesy public system in the The system owns, leases or manages 25 It has more than 40,000 full- and part-time employees.