The Carle Foundation, a two-hospital system and health plan in Illinois, saw its patient-service and health insurance-premium revenue rise in 2014. But an increase in its expenses led to a lower operating surplus for the not-for-profit organization compared with the year before.
The Urbana-based integrated system realized a $94.6 million operating surplus on more than $2.05 billion in revenue. That figure includes almost $710 million from patient-service revenue, an increase of 7.9% over 2013, and almost $1.3 billion in health insurance-premium revenue, an increase of 14.8%, according to Carle's consolidated statement of operations. Carle separately reported that hospital admissions rose 11% to 24,494 in 2014.
But Carle's operating surplus was down 40.1% from 2013. Expenses climbed almost 16.6% to $1.96 billion. This included a 21% increase in payments for medical services for its health plan members, to more than $942 million. Salaries and wages rose 10.9% to almost $478 million.
The number of fully insured lives covered by Carle health plans rose 34.3% to 279,400 during the year, partially driven by its participation in the state's adoption of Medicaid managed care.
Carle Hospital completed a $188.5 million expansion and modernization project in 2013 and added 48 beds in November 2014. It had a 52.8% share of the Champaign-Urbana market in 2013, the latest year available. This is up from 48.8% in 2011.
The system includes its 393-bed namesake hospital in Urbana and Hoopeston (Ill.) Community Memorial Hospital, a 13-bed critical-access hospital with seven rural clinics that Carle acquired in November 2012. Last year, according to the statement, Carle paid off the remaining $65.9 million it owed from its 2010 acquisition of the Carle Clinic Association, then a 340-physician group, for $250 million.
Carle Foundation Hospital also operates a medical equipment and supply service and a surgery center, and it has for-profit subsidiaries that offer professional-liability claims-processing and management services and physician-credentialing services.
The system's Carle Health Care subsidiary operates an air medical transport service, the 413-doctor Carle Physician Group, and an ambulatory surgery center. The division had net patient-service revenue of $237.3 million in 2014 and an operating deficit of more than $20.1 million.
Carle Foundation has pledged to contribute $100 million over 10 years, including $34.5 million to cover start up-up costs, for a new engineering-based medical college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.
