Kentucky Non-Profit Hospitals Net Assets Up 83% Under Obama and the Affordable Care Act.....Alison Lundergan Grimes Has Been Right on Health Care Including Medicaid Expansion

From a review of the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA), I found 5 Non-Profit Hospital Organizations headquartered in the State of Kentucky 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
Baptist Healthcare System	Louisville	KY	May 14	1,653		Aug 09	1,036	60%
Norton Health Care	Louisville	KY	Jun 14	902		Dec 08	399	126%
Saint Elizabeth Medical Center	Edgewood	KY	Jun 14	867		Dec 08	265	227%
UK HealthCare Hospital System	Lexington	KY	Jun 13	702		Jun 09	544	29%
Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's	Louisville	KY	Jun 13	450		Dec 08	257	75%
Total all 5				4,574			2,501	83%

As you can see from the above chart, the Total Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Kentucky Non-Profit Hospital Organizations increased by a superb 83% to $4.574 bil so far during the Obama Administration.

Very positively impacting this spectacular increase in the Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Kentucky 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 very robust increase in Net Assets (Financial Strength) of these 5 Kentucky 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 impressive Net Asset percentage increases of these 5 Kentucky Hospitals, a key beneficiary of this has been and will continue to be Kentucky citizens electing to buy health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange.  This very strong Net Asset growth gives these Kentucky 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.    

Kentucky Struggling Hospitals

There are many Kentucky Hospitals which are struggling financially.  Let me just mention 2 which have Current Year Revenues above $400 mil each.

Ashland Hospital posted an Operating Loss of $37 mil on Total Operating Revenues of $486 mil in its fiscal year ended September 2013.  And Owensboro Medical Health generated an Operating Loss of $20 mil on Total Operating Revenues of $429 mil in its fiscal year ended May 2013.

By far the best and only way to solve this financially devastating problem is for the State of Kentucky to fully expand Medicaid, which it wisely did.  With the resultant massive inflow of Patient Revenues from Medicaid expansion, Ashland Hospital and Owensboro Medical Health and the many other struggling Kentucky Hospitals should be able to turn these huge losses into profits.

And there's an added factor in Kentucky's case which should drive down Health Insurance Premiums on the Health Insurance Exchange even more.  Despite overwhelming pressure from US Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and also from heavy lobbying by Kentucky Health Insurance giant Humana, the State of Kentucky decided that instead, the right thing to do for Kentucky citizens and for the Kentucky economy was to pass full Medicaid expansion.

Because Kentucky expanded Medicaid, one of the key beneficiaries of this resultant very healthy improvement in the Total Net Assets of all Kentucky Hospitals will be Kentucky citizens electing to buy health insurance on the Health Insurance Exchange.  This exceptional Net Asset growth from Medicaid expansion will give all Kentucky 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.