SCL Health Systems hasn't released its December 2013 financial statements to EMMA yet. Thus I have included as 2013 operating results below its 9 months ended September 2013 amounts.
These 5 Colorado Non-Profit Hospital Organizations generated Total Bottom Line Net Income of a modest 6.4% of Total Operating Revenues in 2013 and an even more modest 3.9% in 2012.
It should be pointed out that these are modest Bottom Line Profits of these largest, financially strongest Colorado Hospital Organizations which even include very robust Investment Returns due to the hot stock market in both 2013 and in late 2012, and thus on an Operating Income (Loss) basis, these Profits are substantially lower in both 2013 and in 2012.
To illustrate this latter point, by far the largest of these Colorado Hospital Organizations is Catholic Health Initiatives, which had Total Investment Income of $489 mil in 2013 included in Non-Operating Income, as compared with its Total Operating Loss of $55 mil also in 2013.
Below are the Bottom Line Net Income and Total Operating Revenues for each of these 5 Colorado Non-Profit Hospital Organizations for both 2013 and 2012:
| Most | 2013 | 2012 | |||||||
| Recent | Bottom | 2013 | 2013 | Bottom | 2012 | 2012 | |||
| Fiscal | Line | Total | Net | Line | Total | Net | |||
| Year | Net | Operating | Income | Net | Operating | Income | |||
| Colorado Hospital Organ | City HQs | End | Income | Revenues | Margin | Income | Revenues | Margin | |
| mil $s | mil $s | % | mil $s | mil $s | % | ||||
| Non-Profit Hospitals | |||||||||
| Children's Hospital Colorado | Aurora | Dec 13 | 122 | 852 | 14.3% | 105 | 758 | 13.9% | |
| Univ Colorado Health | Ft. Collins | Jun 13 | 297 | 2,321 | 12.8% | 181 | 1,720 | 10.5% | |
| SCL Health Systems | Denver | Dec 13 | 137 | 1,730 | 7.9% | 183 | 2,223 | 8.2% | |
| Catholic Health Initiatives | Inverness | Jun 13 | 490 | 10,708 | 4.6% | 95 | 9,134 | 1.0% | |
| Denver Health & Hospital Authority | Denver | Dec 13 | - | 798 | 0.0% | 6 | 744 | 0.8% | |
| Total all 5 Non-Profit Hospitals | 1,046 | 16,409 | 6.4% | 570 | 14,579 | 3.9% |
More than anything, Hospital Patient Charges drive US Health Care Costs. When you view a typical US Hospital bill for patient services, it is easy to understand why US Health Care Costs are so much higher than that in any other major country.
One reason US Hospital bills are so high is that many of the larger Non-Profit Hospitals Systems set their pricing for hospital procedures so that they make a lot of money and retain it tax free, further increasing their already massive treasure chest of Investments in Equity and Debt Securities, which also grow tax free.
Thus, US Hospitals are playing a key role in determining ultimately whether health insurance premiums are fairly priced on the health insurance exchanges.
Well, as you can see from the above very modest profit amounts along with my earlier discussion of them, Colorado is one State whose large Non-Profit Hospital Organizations, for the most part, are not being greedy in generating high profits.
With Colorado Hospitals generating such modest profits, a key beneficiary will be Colorado citizens buying health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange. Colorado Hospitals, for the most part, have not been nor will they 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 Health Insurance Exchange.
Another factor which will help keep insurance premium prices reasonable in the Health Insurance Exchange is that Colorado has wisely elected to expand Medicaid. This will increase nearly all Colorado Hospital profits substantially and thus permit Colorado Hospitals to be even more reasonable in their negotiations with health insurance companies on pricing for hospital and other health care procedures which ultimately drives what health insurance premiums are set at by health insurers on the Health Insurance Exchange.
