Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Earnings On Fire Under Obamacare and Headed Much Higher

From a review of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA), I found 13 Non-Profit Hospital Organizations headquartered in the State of Ohio with Net Assets at the most recent date reported of more than $400 mil each.  Below here are the Bottom Line Profits, Total Operating Revenues  and the related Profit Margin Percentages in the most recent audited fiscal year reported for each of these 13 Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations:



Most




Recent




Annual Bottom


Fiscal Line Total Profit

City Year Net Operating Margin

HQs End Income Revenues %



mils $s mils $s
Ohio Hospital Organizations










Cleveland Clinic Health System Cleveland Dec 2012          685             6,215 11.0%
OhioHealth Columbus Jun 2013          380             2,529 15.0%
Catholic Health Partners Cincinnati Dec 2012          303             3,819 7.9%
Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Dec 2012          209             1,489 14.0%
ProMedica Health Care Toledo Dec 2012          202             1,418 14.2%
Children's Hospital Cincinnati Jun 2012          129             1,852 7.0%
Premier Health Partners Dayton Dec 2012          100             1,846 5.4%
Summa Health System Akron Dec 2012            56             1,359 4.1%
University Hospitals Health System Cleveland Dec 2012            54             2,266 2.4%
Children's Hospital Medical Center Akron Dec 2012            47               580 8.1%
Kettering Health Network Dayton Dec 2012            46             1,228 3.7%
UC Health Cincinnati Jun 2013            26             1,206 2.2%
Christ Hospital Health Network Cincinnati Jun 2013            17               762 2.2%






Total all 13

      2,254           26,569 8.5%

As you can see in the above chart, the Total Bottom Line Profits for these 13 Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations was $2.254 bil in the most recent audited fiscal year reported, which was a very robust 8.5% of Total Operating Revenues.  As a comparison, the Combined Bottom Line Profit Margin of the prestigious 30 Dow Industrial companies was just a little bit higher 9.6% of their Total Revenues in the most recent year.  CEOs and CFOs of the 30 Dow Industrial companies keenly aware of how difficult it is for them to generate profit margin percentages must be in utter disbelief at how Non-Profit Hospitals can possibly be doing so well on the profit margin percentage front.

When you compare the 8.5% Total Bottom Line Profit Margin of these 13 Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations with the 9.6% Total Bottom Line Profit Margin of the 30 Dow Industrials, which are some of the very best For-Profit US companies, the clear conclusion is that the earnings of these Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations in the most recent year were on fire.

But it also reveals a main reason why the US Health Care Costs are so much out of control.....Hospitals charge way too much and retain these excess charges in their Bottom Line Profits which get added to their massive treasure chest of Investments in Stocks and Bonds.  And the US Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, nearly all 100% subservient to Hospitals, just sits there and twiddles its thumbs and refuses to work together for the common good of the country.  With this complete lack of governance, coupled with consistently choosing Hospitals over People, it's no wonder why the approval rating of the US Congress is now less than 10%.

These very strong bottom line profits of these 13 Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations were attributable to superb fiscal measures and much more effective health care delivery adopted by hospital executives and hospital employees, which were initiated in conjunction with Obamacare.  In addition, the strong US stock market and lower interest rates added to investment returns and thus also to bottom line profits of these Hospital Organizations.

But there's even more to this incredibly positive earnings story.

When the Insurance Exchanges kick in starting in 2014, these Ohio Non-Profit Hospital Organizations should see their profits increase even more......and by quite a bit more.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hospital Organizations' both future Hospital Operating Income and future Bottom Line Income will be bolstered robustly due to many of the Uninsured getting insurance and also due to the many of the Underinsured getting much better insurance.

With these very strong, ongoing Ohio Hospital earnings under Obamacare, the ultimate result should be a reduction in hospital patient charges, a bending back of the US Long-term Total Health Care Cost Curve and a reduction in the US Debt.

That's quite a financial Trifecta!

And it also only makes sense that some of these huge past and future bottom line profits of these US Hospital Organizations, both Non-Profit and For-Profit ones, should be used to wisely fund a substantial portion of the elimination of the US Government Sequester Cost Cuts over the next several years which are now being negotiated by 29 US Congressional members of the Bicameral Committee Conference on Budget Negotiations.  Both clear-thinking Republicans and clear-thinking Democrats should be on board with this wise funding vehicle.