Tufts Medical Center ran an operating surplus of $8.6 million in fiscal 2014 (PDF)—a margin of just under 1%. That was down from an operating surplus of $13.9 million, a margin of 1.6%, in the prior year.
Inpatient admissions at the not-for-profit academic medical center dropped from 19,914 in fiscal 2013 to 17,814 in the fiscal year that concluded at the end of September—a decrease of 11.8%. Likewise, the number of patient days fell to just over 90,000, a decrease of 8.4%. The occupancy rate ticked down from 68.5% to 62.7%.
Emergency room and outpatient visits, by contrast, both increased slightly at the Boston-based medical center. The former inched up by less than a percentage point, while the latter rose by 2.5%.
In recent months, Tufts has been in talks with Boston Medical Center about a partnership in the competitive Massachusetts marketplace. In October, it announced a newly created health system with Lowell (Mass.) General Hospital. Between 2007 and 2011, Tufts's market share in the Boston market held steady at roughly 3%.
Operating revenues for 2014 were $908.7 million, an increase of just over $40 million over the prior year. But expenses rose at a slightly quicker pace, increasing by nearly $50 million.
Tufts' assets increased by roughly $10 million, to $854 million in fiscal 2014. The not-for-profit provider had $114 million cash on hand at the close of the year—a drop of nearly $35 million from 2013. That was enough money to pay for 180 days of operations without any additional revenue.
The academic medical center's largest source of revenue from payers was managed-care organizations at $279.8 million. Medicare revenue was flat at $229.6 million, but Medicaid dollars increased by 14.3% in fiscal 2014, to $145.1 million. The percentage of Tufts' patients enrolled in Medicaid also increased, from 18.9% in 2013 to 20.8% last year. That likely reflects the expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Charity care for fiscal year 2014 was $29.6 million in terms of charges forgone. That was up from $27.6 million the prior year, a roughly 7% increase.
Follow Paul Demko on Twitter: @MHpdemko
