Nebraska Non-Profit Hospitals Net Assets Up 50% Under Obama and the Affordable Care Act

From a review of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA), I found 5 Non-Profit Hospital Organizations headquartered in the State of Nebraska with Net Assets (i.e. Financial Strength or Total Assets minus Total Liabilities) at the most recent date of more than $400 mil each.  Below here are the Net Assets of these 5 at both the most recent reported date and also at the Fiscal Year End (FYE) closest to the beginning of the Obama Administration: 

						FYE	Balance	Net
				Most		Balance	Sheet	Assets
			Most	Recent		Sheet	Net	%
			Recent	Balance		Date	Assets	Change
			Balance	Sheet		Beginning	Beginning	During
	City	State	Sheet	Net		Obama	Obama	Obama
Hospital Organization	HQs	HQs	Date	Assets		Admin	Admin	Admin
				mil $s			mil $s
Nebraska Medical Center	Omaha	NE	Dec 13	615		Jun 09	470	31%
Nebraska Methodist Health System	Omaha	NE	Dec 13	542		Dec 08	300	81%
Bryan Medical Center	Lincoln	NE	Sep 13	523		May 09	383	37%
Clarkson Regional Health Services	Omaha	NE	Dec 13	468		Jun 09	343	36%
Children's Hospital & Medical Center	Omaha	NE	Dec 13	408		Dec 08	210	94%
Total all 5				2,556			1,706	50%

As you can see from the above chart, the Total Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Nebraska Non-Profit Hospital Organizations increased by a very robust 50% to $2.556 bil for their average 4.67 years during the Obama Administration.

To illustrate the very recent explosive Total Net Asset growth, in just the past 6 months, this Total Net Asset increase grew from 35% to 50%.

Very positively impacting this impressive increase in the Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Nebraska Hospitals were actions taken by both the Obama Administration and the US Fed to strengthen the US Financial Foundation which was severely damaged from the financial meltdown in late 2008.

In addition, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has also played a key role in this very robust increase in Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Nebraska Non-Profit Hospital Organizations.

A remarkable thing is that these very robust increases in Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these Non-Profit Hospital Organizations occurred when these Non-Profit Hospitals were also playing very instrumental roles in the substantial annual percentage growth reduction of Total US Health Care Costs which occurred in each of the most recent three years under the ACA.

With such very solid Net Asset percentage increases of these 5 Nebraska Hospitals, a key beneficiary of this will be Nebraska citizens electing to buy health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange.  This strong Net Asset growth gives these Nebraska Hospitals the financial flexibility to moderate their pricing for hospital procedures in their negotiations with health insurance companies which ultimately determines what insurance premium prices are set at by health insurance companies on the Health Insurance Exchange.   

Nebraska Struggling Hospitals

From EMMA, I found 16 Nebraska Non-Profit Hospital Organizations with Total Operating Revenues of at least $5 mil in their most recent fiscal year.  Precisely half of them generated Operating Income as a Percentage of Total Operating Revenues of less than 2.0% in the most recent fiscal year, as you can see in the below chart:

					Most
					Recent
				Operating	Annual
		Operating	Total	Income	Fiscal
	City	Income	Operating	(Loss)	Year
	HQs	(Loss)	Revenues	Margin	End
		mils $s	mils $s	%
Nebraska Non-Profit Hospital Organizations
Callaway Hospital District	Callaway	(0.2)	5	-3.7%	Jul 13
Osmond General Hospital	Osmond	(0.2)	6	-3.2%	Jun 13
Fillmore County Hospital	Geneva	-	13	0.0%	Jun 13
Tabitha	Lincoln	0.3	51	0.6%	Dec 12
Nebraska Methodist Health	Omaha	4.3	668	0.6%	Dec 13
Antelope Memorial Hospital	Neligh	0.1	13	0.8%	Jun 13
Faith Regional Health Services	Norfolk	1.2	149	0.8%	Dec 12
Nebraska Medical Center	Omaha	14.8	803	1.8%	Jun 13
Total all 8		20.3	1,708	1.2%

The best and only way to substantially strengthen these struggling Nebraska Hospitals is for the State of Nebraska to fully expand Medicaid.

A key side benefit to Nebraska citizens of Nebraska Medicaid expansion is that the resultant profit enhancements and thus Net Asset enhancements to all of Nebraska's Hospitals would give them the financial flexibility to moderate their pricing for hospital procedures in their negotiations with health insurance companies which ultimately determines what insurance premium prices are set at by health insurance companies on the Health Insurance Exchange.