Rebranded Navicent sees surplus soar in Q3

A tightening of expenses, coupled with larger investment gains, helped Central Georgia Health System's net surplus more than double during fiscal 2014.

The Macon, Ga.-based system, which rebranded itself last month as Navicent Health, reported a surplus of $101.4 million on $686.7 million in revenue in its unaudited financial statement (PDF) for the year ended Sept. 30. The boost to the system's bottom line represented a 126.1% improvement from a year ago, when Central Georgia Health's surplus was just shy of $45.0 million.

The increase was due, in part, to heftier earnings on the nonoperating side, as the system announced investment income of $72.4 million, up from $40.2 million last year.

A double-digit percentage drop in expenses across all significant accounts more than offset a dip in revenue. Central Georgia Health's operating surplus soared to $31.8 million after the system reported a meager $298,000 in operating surplus in 2013.

This occurred even as the system's flagship—the Medical Center of Central Georgia, now known as Medical Center, Navicent Health—experienced utilization declines. The hospital saw a 1.6% decrease in emergency room visits, a 2.4% drop in outpatient visits and a 4.8% decline in admissions.

At the same time, the hospital's payer mix stayed nearly the same, with 46% of patient charges covered by Medicare and 18% by Medicaid.

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