Geisinger Health System, the six-hospital group that also has health plan operations, maintained its operating margin in the first six months of fiscal 2015 as acquisitions added revenue but also increased costs.
The Danville, Pa.-based system reported an operating surplus of $74.8 million on $2.2 billion in revenue, for an operating margin of 3.4%, in the six-month period ended Dec. 31. In comparison, it saw an operating surplus of $74.4 million on $2 billion in revenue, for an operating margin of 3.8%, in the prior-year period.
Geisinger saw an overall 16.7% increase in admissions in the first half of its fiscal year, and a 26% increase in emergency department visits with its larger footprint.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, the system acquired 290-bed Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pa., and expanded its multispecialty medical group with the purchase of Viewmont Health Associates, which provides imaging, laboratory, sleep and physical therapy services.
On a same-hospital basis, admissions increased 2.1% as Geisinger expanded its clinical programs to focus on higher-acuity service lines.
Membership in Geisinger's health plans increased 7.3% in the six-month period compared to the first half of its fiscal 2014. The health plan had almost 44,000 members who purchased insurance through the federal exchange.
Geisinger currently is attempting to add to its acquisition spree with the purchase of AtlanticCare Health System in Atlantic City, N.J. The deal is still in the regulatory approval phase, with an expected closing date this summer, according to the system's financial filing.
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