Indiana Non-Profit Hospitals Net Assets Up 121% Under Obama and the Affordable Care Act

From a review of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) and the Indiana Dept of Health website, I found 10 Non-Profit Hospital Organizations headquartered in the State of Indiana 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 10 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
Indiana University Health	Indianapolis	IN	Jun 14	4,512		Dec 08	1,434	215%
St Vincent Health	Indianapolis	IN	Jun 13	3,040		Jun 09	1,561	95%
Franciscan Alliance	Mishawaka	IN	Jun 14	2,668		Dec 08	1,463	82%
Parkview Health System	Fort Wayne	IN	Jun 14	1,195		Dec 08	543	120%
Community Health Network	Indianapolis	IN	Jun 14	1,151		Dec 08	482	139%
Beacon Health System	South Bend	IN	Jun 14	1,109		Dec 08	341	225%
Deaconess Health System	Evansville	IN	Jun 14	631		Sep 09	365	73%
Community Foundation NW Indiana	Munster	IN	Jun 14	540		Jun 09	289	87%
St Mary's Health	Evansville	IN	Jun 13	512		Jun 09	292	75%
Reid Hospital	Richmond	IN	Jun 14	408		Dec 08	355	15%
Total all 10				15,766			7,125	121%

As you can see from the above chart, the Total Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 10 Indiana Non-Profit Hospital Organizations increased by a spectacularly off-the-charts 121% to $15.766 bil so far during the Obama Administration.  And if St. Vincent Health were to file its June 2014 financial statements with the Indiana Dept of Health on a reasonably timely basis, this would show that the overall 121% Net Asset increase would be even significantly higher.  For instance, St. Vincent's parent Ascension Health reported a Total Net Asset Increase of 11% in the fiscal year ended June 2014.  If St. Vincent's Net Asset Increase matched that of its parent, this 121% Indiana Hospital Total Net Asset Increase would be 126%.

Very positively impacting this phenomenal increase in the Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 10 Indiana Hospital Organizations 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 spectacular increase in Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 10 Indiana 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, and especially the Indiana 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 extremely impressive Net Asset percentage increases of these 10 Indiana Hospitals, a key beneficiary of this has been and will continue to be Indiana citizens electing to buy health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange.  This very strong Net Asset growth gives these Indiana Hospitals the financial flexibility to moderate their pricing for hospital and other health care 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.

If the State of Indiana were to take the logical next step and fully expand Medicaid, then the profits and Net Assets of all Indiana Hospitals and particularly the smaller, struggling ones would be substantially strengthened financially.  Thus even lower insurance premiums on the Health Insurance Exchange would result since this enhanced Net Asset growth gives all of these Indiana 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.

Wishard Health Services Safety Net Hospital System

The Indianapolis-based  Wishard Health Services is a Component Unit of the Marion County Government and thus is a Public Non-Profit Governmental Unit.  It is also a Safety Net Hospital System serving the Indianapolis inner city.

Given its Safety Net mission in a large city, Wishard has generated massive Losses totaling $1.063 bil over the most recent 5 years, which have effectively been funded by Indiana Taxpayers.

By far the best and only way to put a major dent in Wishard's massive Operating Losses and also losses or very modest profits of other struggling smaller Indiana Hospitals is for the State of Indiana to fully expand Medicaid.  There would be a resultant massive inflow of Patient Revenues from Medicaid expansion, and thus Wishard and other struggling Indiana Hospitals would be able to substantially reduce their Operating Losses.

I think Indiana Governor Mike Pence vastly underestimated the intelligence and resolve of US Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell.  He thought he would be able to bully her with his clearly tarnished Healthy Indiana Plan.  Burwell is no dummy.....after all, she is a Rhodes Scholar.  And she's also the furthest thing from being someone you can push over.

I think Pence should make reasonable adjustments to his Healthy Indiana Plan so that poorer Indiana residents aren't treated like wholescale takers, which his present Healthy Indiana Plan clearly does.  It has many good features, but it needs to be revised to treat poorer people more fairly or it is going nowhere.