SCL Health System, the Denver-based group, had a steady operating margin of 2.3% in the first nine months of the year, despite some loss of patient volume.
The nine-hospital system, formerly known as Sisters of Charity Leavenworth, reported an operating surplus of $41.1 million for the nine-month period on nearly $1.8 billion in revenue. In the prior-year period, its operating surplus was $39.8 million on revenue that topped $1.7 billion.
However, SCL booked significantly lower investment income compared with the previous year. It finished the third quarter with a net surplus of $93.7 million, compared with $133.2 million during the first nine months of 2013.
Only one of SCL’s three states, Colorado, expanded Medicaid this year. The system also operates in Kansas and Montana, but exited the California market last March when it sold St. John’s Health Center to Providence Health & Services for $93.9 million.
As a result, only 8% of its revenue came from Medicaid in the nine-month period compared with 9% at this time last year. The share of revenue coming from self-pay patients also declined one percentage point year over year, while Medicare and commercial contracts accounted for a larger slice of the pie.
Acute-care admissions at SCL declined 3%, while outpatient visits decreased 1.2%, a drop the system attributed to Kaiser Permanente performing imaging procedures internally in the Denver market.
However, SCL gained a revenue bump from higher reimbursement rates as well as a 4.6% increase in emergency room visits and a 1% increase in surgeries. It also received an unrestricted $16.8 million donation to its St. Vincent Foundation.
Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher
