These 22 Louisiana Non-Profit Hospital Organizations generated a Total Operating Loss of $(67) mil in the most recent year reported, which was a negative (0.8)% of Total Operating Revenues of $8.589 bil.
Of these 22 Louisiana Non-Profit Hospital Organizations, 10 of them had Operating Losses totaling $258 mil, and 19 of them had Operating Income Margins of less than 5.0%.
The main driver of these dismal Total Operating Losses of $67 mil for these 22 Louisiana Hospital Organizations in the most recent audited fiscal year were Total Bad Debt Earnings Charges of $776 mil and Total Uncompensated Charity Care Charges Foregone which even exceeded the Total Bad Debt Charges. These two earnings charges were especially so huge because the State of Louisiana has such a high percentage of both Uninsured and Underinsured residents.
With nearly all of these Louisiana Hospitals generating Operating Income Margins of less than 5.0%, a key beneficiary of this will be Louisiana citizens buying health insurance on the Federal insurance exchange. These Louisiana Hospitals, for the most part, will not be baking in excessive Hospital profits demands in their negotiations with health insurance companies on pricing for hospital procedures which ultimately determines what insurance premiums are set by health insurance companies on the Federal insurance exchange.
So far, Louisiana has decided to not expand Medicaid. If Louisiana changed its mind and decided to fully Expand Medicaid, then the consequences of this action would be to significantly drive down insurance premium prices even more for Louisiana citizens in the Federal health insurance exchange. This Louisiana Medicaid Expansion would turn the Total Loss of all Louisiana Hospitals into a substantial Total Profit and thus permit Louisiana Hospitals to be even more reasonable in their negotiations with health insurance companies on pricing for hospital procedures which ultimately drives what health insurance premiums are set at by health insurers for Louisiana citizens on the Federal Health Insurance Exchange.
So just how much would Louisiana Hospital Profits increase due to the ACA and the Expansion of Medicaid?
Well, these 22 Louisiana Hospital Organization's audited financial statements show it will be huge.
For these 22 Louisiana Hospital Organizations, Total Operating Loss was $(67) mil in the most recent year. Driving this Total Operating Loss were Provisions for Bad Debts of a huge $776 mil. Thus Total Operating Income Before these Provisions for Bad Debts was $709 mil. But there's more to this story. Total Uncompensated Charity Care Charges Foregone by these 22 Louisiana Hospital Organizations exceeded the Total Bad Debt Charges in the most recent year.
Granted not all of these two huge Earnings Charges will be eliminated with ACA and Medicaid Expansion, but a substantial portion of them will.
Below here are the Audited Operating Income or Loss, Total Operating Revenues and Operating Income (Loss) Margin Percentage in the most recent year for each of these 22 Louisiana Non-Profit Hospital Organizations:
| Operating | ||||
| Operating | Total | Income | ||
| City | Income | Operating | (Loss) | |
| HQs | (Loss) | Revenues | Margin | |
| mils $s | mils $s | % | ||
| Louisiana Non-Profit Hospital Organizations | ||||
| Schumpert Highland Hospital and Health* | Shreveport | (70.0) | 219 | -32.0% |
| LSU Health Sciences Center | Shreveport | (77.2) | 433 | -17.8% |
| St. Charles Parish Hosp District | Luling | (5.2) | 30 | -17.3% |
| Coushatta Health* | Coushatta | (0.9) | 12 | -7.5% |
| LSU Health Care Services Division | Baton Rouge | (43.4) | 834 | -5.2% |
| Jefferson Parish Hosp District #2 East | Metairie | (14.1) | 366 | -3.9% |
| Patrick Hospital* | Lake Charles | (3.6) | 119 | -3.0% |
| Tangipahoa Parish Hosp District | Hammond | (8.1) | 277 | -2.9% |
| Lafourche Parish Hosp District | Galliano | (0.6) | 29 | -2.1% |
| Ochsner Health | Jefferson | (35.0) | 1,842 | -1.9% |
| St. Tammany Parish Hosp District #2 | Slidell | 0.9 | 125 | 0.7% |
| SW Louisiana Health | Lake Charles | 1.7 | 232 | 0.7% |
| Franciscan Missionaries Our Lady Health | Baton Rouge | 22.0 | 1,416 | 1.6% |
| Jefferson Parish Hosp District #1 West | Marrero | 5.9 | 255 | 2.3% |
| Lafayette General Health | Lafayette | 8.8 | 290 | 3.0% |
| St. Frances Cabrini Hosp* | Alexandria | 5.8 | 191 | 3.0% |
| Terrebonne Parish Hosp | Houma | 5.5 | 178 | 3.1% |
| Tulane Group Practice and Hospital Affiliation | New Orleans | 5.5 | 116 | 4.7% |
| Touro Infirmary | New Orleans | 14.7 | 306 | 4.8% |
| St. Tammany Parish Hosp District #1 | Covington | 14.1 | 225 | 6.3% |
| Willis-Knighton Medical Center | Shreveport | 81.3 | 862 | 9.4% |
| Woman's Hospital | Baton Rouge | 24.6 | 232 | 10.6% |
| Total all 22 | (67.3) | 8,589.0 | -0.8% |
* These four hospitals are part of Christus Health.
LSU Health Care Services Division amounts above include the operations of Louisiana's 7 Public Hospitals: Earl Long at Baton Rouge, University Medical Center at Lafayette, WO Moss Regional Medical Center at St. Charles, Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center at Independence, Chabert Medical Center at Houma, and the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans.
Shreveport-based LSU Health Sciences Center above amounts include hospital operations in Shreveport, Monroe and Pineville.
LSU Health states in its EMMA filing that with its many hospitals located throughout the State of Louisiana, it provides health care services for an amazingly high 75% of the State's indigent population. If Medicaid were Expanded in Louisiana, the huge Operating Losses of both LSU Health Care Services Division and LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport would be pretty much eliminated, and that should also benefit the State of Louisiana's financial coffers and thus also Louisiana citizens.
The massive Operating Losses of the Louisiana Public Hospitals are now being effectively funded by Louisiana citizens. If Medicaid were fully Expanded in Louisiana, these staggering ongoing annual Losses of these Louisiana Public Hospitals would be drastically reduced. Thus in all fairness, it only makes sense that the taxes now paid to fund these annual Losses should also be substantially reduced.
