According to state records, local hospitals have been hit hard by the pandemic, and most of Khan’s largest medical centers have lower per-patient costs than in the first quarter. It reflects the financial sacrifice of the crisis to the county’s health system.
Data is in high demand and service delivery as COVID-19 is squeezing hospital finances by closing revenue opportunities and raising all costs from registered nurses to protective equipment.
There are many reasons for the shift, and state numbers don’t provide a complete picture of what’s all happening. However, they point out that what Khan Hospital executives say is a unique and difficult time that can have a protracted impact on the county’s health system.
State-wide gap
Year-over-year financial comparisons do not take into account government recovery funds sent to local hospitals. But across the state, hospitals received $ 8 billion incentives to fully cover about $ 14 billion in revenue losses, according to a recent study by Kaufman, Hall and Associates LLC, this year’s losses. Is projected to fall below $ 2.2 billion.
The state quarterly report does not provide a complete picture, but provides at least a partial view of the hospital’s finances before and during the pandemic, and timely to the performance of local hospitals during the pandemic. It counts in some of the publicly available windows at.
Some hospitals in Kern County refused to comment on the data reported by the facility, while others did not respond to requests for comment. Others said state figures at least partially represent the unique challenge of running a medical center during a stubborn pandemic.
Decline in profits
Bakersfield Memorial reported that despite seeing about the same number of patients, income from patient care in the first quarter was 13% lower than it was a year ago. Ken Keller, president and chief executive officer, said this was primarily due to the hospital’s commitment to treating patients with COVID-19.
The memorial, he said, could hardly carry out the procedure of making the most money, and the composition of payers changed as unemployed people turned into government insurance. .. He said the long-term plan is to reduce costs by providing more preventative care, but the numbers show that there is something to be done.
“This is partly a sign of an era in our domestic market,” Keller said. “Therefore, from a hospital perspective, one of our challenges is to continue to understand how we strive to maintain margins.”
More patients
Scott Thygerson, head of hospital and clinic operations at Kern Medical, misunderstood that his hospital’s quirky government reimbursement system draws too many conclusions from quarterly comparisons, accounting for 9% of patients. He said it shows a 61% increase in revenue as it grows.
In addition to rising labor costs, Kern Medical had to deal with the surge in trauma treatment from violence and car accidents, as well as the surge in behavioral health problems.
“We had to focus very much on expenses and income,” he said.
The Khan Valley Healthcare District, which operates a much smaller medical center near Lake Isabella, reported a 11% year-on-year decrease in patient census, while a 11% increase in patient net income.
Rising cost
Tim McGlew, CEO of the Kern Valley Healthcare District, said the hospitals did not see much of a COVID-19 surge, despite the financial impact.
He said a seriously ill COVID-19 patient was transferred to a well-equipped hospital in Bakersfield. When the state stopped outpatient care in the district, it had a greater economic impact, and the state had to buy protective equipment at a high price and perform weekly inspections for skilled nursing facility staff. He said.
Adventist Health Bakersfield confirmed a 10% increase in patient census between the first quarter of last year and the first three months of 2021. Meanwhile, state data showed that patients’ net income increased by only 4%.
President Daniel Walcott could turn out what looks like a shift to be an illusion, as many factors can affect revenue data, including changes in collections and different payer configurations. I said there is. But he said the interpretation that the number of patients outpaced the increase in income applies in that the hospital’s profitability is weakening.
Long-term effect
Despite the surge in COVID-related care, he said, along with overtime and spending on traveling nurses, the number of beneficial procedures is declining. He said he expects to increase overall income this year, but also costs.
According to Walcott, the economic impact of the crisis has hit hospitals in the Central Valley more than hospitals in wealthy areas. Adventists are trying to save money by providing more services in patients’ homes, but the pandemic’s overall financial turmoil suggests building a new medical tower on the downtown Bakersfield campus. He added that it would delay the hospital’s plans.
He said the best thing the inhabitants could do to help was to be shot.
“If you haven’t been vaccinated, do it,” Walcott said.
Hospitals feel pandemic’s financial fallout | News Source link Hospitals feel pandemic’s financial fallout | News
