Ascension Health, the largest Catholic healthcare provider in the U.S., reported a higher operating margin as it treated significantly more patients in its fiscal 2014, which ended June 30.
Discharges increased across most of its service lines, and inpatient volume grew 11% year-over-year. Emergency room visits increased 14.9% and outpatient visits 19.9%.
New affiliations contributed to the results.
St. Louis-based Ascension in April 2013 assumed full ownership of three regional health systems that formerly made up Marian Health System: Via Christi Health in Wichita, Kan.; Ministry Health Care in Milwaukee; and St. John Health System in Tulsa, Okla.
Ascension already had held a 50% stake in Via Christi since 2007.
Then in February, Via Christi paid $7.3 million to acquire the 50% stake in Mercy Regional Health Center that it did not already own. The stake was valued at $52.5 million, according to Ascension's annual report.
Ascension's fiscal 2014 operating margin was 3% compared with 2.7% in the previous year. However, the system, which has benefited from a focused investment strategy, reported fewer year-over-year nonoperating gains.
Its total surplus declined to $1.8 billion on $20.1 billion in revenue compared with last year's $3 billion on $16.5 billion in revenue.
Ascension has continued to manage its hospital portfolio. In June, the system's Alexian Brothers Health System division signed a letter of intent to create a joint-operating company with Adventist Midwest Health, bringing together nine Chicago-area hospitals.
Earlier this year, it also tried to pursue a sale of two Missouri hospitals to HCA, but the deal fell apart after drawing antitrust scrutiny.
In May, Ascension also signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire an unnamed insurance company.
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