These 6 Maryland Non-Profit Hospital Organizations generated Total Bottom Line Net Income of a very modest 5.3% of Total Operating Revenues in 2013 and a substantially lower 0.9% in 2012.
None of the 6 Maryland Non-Profit Hospital Organizations posted a Bottom Line Profit Margin of above 7.5% in either 2013 or in 2012.
It should be pointed out that these are modest Bottom Line Profits of these largest, financially strongest Maryland 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 Maryland Hospital Organizations is the very prestigious Johns Hopkins Health System, which had Total Investment Returns of $197 mil in 2013 included in Non-Operating Income, which was higher than its Total Operating Income of $176 mil also in 2013.
Below are the Bottom Line Net Income and Total Operating Revenues for each of these 6 Maryland 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 | |||
| Maryland Hospital Organ | City HQs | End | Income | Revenues | Margin | Income | Revenues | Margin | |
| mil $s | mil $s | % | mil $s | mil $s | % | ||||
| Non-Profit Hospitals | |||||||||
| Anne Arundel Health | Annapolis | Jun 13 | 43 | 572 | 7.5% | (35) | 555 | -6.3% | |
| Johns Hopkins Health System | Baltimore | Jun 13 | 351 | 4,960 | 7.1% | (6) | 4,645 | -0.1% | |
| LifeBridge Health | Baltimore | Jun 13 | 54 | 1,034 | 5.2% | 29 | 1,008 | 2.9% | |
| Bon Secours Health System | Baltimore | Aug 13 | 169 | 3,357 | 5.0% | 112 | 3,206 | 3.5% | |
| MedStar Health | Columbia | Jun 13 | 186 | 4,217 | 4.4% | 70 | 3,985 | 1.8% | |
| Univ Maryland Medical System | Baltimore | Jun 13 | 84 | 2,571 | 3.3% | (23) | 2,371 | -1.0% | |
| Total all 6 | 887 | 16,711 | 5.3% | 147 | 15,770 | 0.9% |
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, Maryland clearly is one State whose large Non-Profit Hospital Organizations are not being greedy in generating high profits.
With Maryland Hospitals generating such modest profits, a key beneficiary will be Maryland citizens buying health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange. Maryland 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 Maryland has wisely elected to expand Medicaid. This will increase nearly all Maryland Hospital profits substantially and thus permit Maryland 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.
