Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
February 25, 2018 11:00 PM

Tax law hammers Tenet's Q4 operating results by $252 million

Tara Bannow
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    AP

    (Updated on Feb. 27)

    Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, recorded a net loss of $230 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, up from $79 million at the same time in 2016.

    The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act dealt a major blow to Tenet's bottom line at the end of 2017. Under the law, Tenet recorded a $252 million write-down of its deferred tax assets and a $22 million increase in interest expense. Tenet also took on a $99 million after-tax charge related to the write-down of assets for sale in Chicago and employee severance.

    Tenet's net loss for 2017 was $704 million, compared with $192 million in 2016.

    Tenets results look better using adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which rose to $840 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 29% bump from $650 million in the prior year, and about $20 million above the high end of the company's outlook, Ron Rittenmeyer, Tenet's CEO, told investors in a call Tuesday morning. Tenet's net hospital operating revenue was nearly $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up 3.4% from the fourth quarter of 2016.

    Utilization statistics were mixed. Tenet's admissions were up 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the fourth quarter of 2016. Over the entire course of 2017, however, admissions dropped by 2% compared with 2016. Some areas saw even larger drops: Outpatient surgeries, for example, were down 5.4% in 2017 compared with the prior year.

    Rittenmeyer pointed out that ambulatory cases increased 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the same point in 2016, and revenue per case increased 2.2% during that time, which he attributed in part to strong imaging and urgent-care visit results from United Surgical Partners International.

    "Looking ahead, we have a robust pipeline and are in discussions with multiple health systems about additional opportunities in 2018 and beyond," he said.

    Emergency room visits were up 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, a trend Tenet spokesman Dan Waldmann said was partially flu-related. Overall in 2017, however, emergency room visits were down 0.7% compared with 2016. Tenet's total outpatient visits were down 2.6% in 2017.

    Despite the weak admissions figures, Tenet saw its revenue per admission spike 4.8% in the fourth quarter, which Waldmann said is skewed because it contains revenue from the California Provider Fee Program. He could not immediately provide a revenue per admission figure that excluded the provider fee.

    Eric Evans, Tenet's president of hospital operations, told investors on Tuesday's call that Tenet continues to see softer volumes than it would like, and said that's partly influenced by patients' enrollment in high-deductible health plans. He also said that the fertility rate has a negative effect on volumes.

    About seven of Tenet's hospitals are also working to raise their trauma levels, and the system has new neuroscience and stroke specialty centers coming online, Evans said.

    "So, again, raising the acuity of our facilities, being a provider of higher acuity services that we think often are a source, obviously, of those higher acuity surgeries," he said, "and then working closely with both teams to make sure that that stuff is transitioning in our markets, that we're able to earn that business no matter where the patient seeks it."

    It's revenue cycle subsidiary, Conifer, beat Tenet's expectations for revenue, though it declined 2% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, which Rittenmeyer told investors was primarily due to the company's divestitures.

    "While I expect us to tighten cost controls and improve execution, the acquisition of new business is the greater priority," he said.

    Tenet is considering selling Conifer and Rittenmeyer said the company has begun to secure the necessary nondisclosure agreements. He did not provide a specific timeline.

    Rittenmeyer told investors Tenet is working to develop a network of facilities that offer patients convenient access, including adding seven surgery centers in 2017. "These are less capital-intensive, directed to serve local communities close to the patient and provide outpatient care to complement the inpatient care provided by our hospitals," he said.

    In addition to adding access points, Tenet has launched a combined sales organization to be led by Bill Wilcox, CEO of United Surgical Partners International.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    mh-20250509-retail-healthcare
    Big retail tried to disrupt healthcare—who is making a dent?
    mh-20250512-myPlace-Health-PACE
    Scan Group eyes PACE expansion as sole owner of myPlace Health
    Most Popular
    1
    'Legendary' Hemsley takes over at UnitedHealth amid rough seas
    2
    Big retail tried to disrupt healthcare—who is making a dent?
    3
    These are the regulations the AHA wants RFK Jr. to scrap
    4
    Downside risk, upside payment highlight new CMS innovation agenda
    5
    Medicaid cuts bill clears key House committee
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content