Mayo Clinic's operating income took an 88% hit in the first quarter of 2020 as the health system weathered the effects of the pandemic in the latter half of March.
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo said it generated a strong margin in January and February, and even into the first half of March. That all changed when the health system was forced to cancel elective procedures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayo ultimately reported $29 million in operating income in the quarter, which ended March 31, compared with $241 million in the 2019 period. Mayo's operating margin was just 0.9% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with a strong, 7.2% margin in the prior-year period.
Revenue declined 3.8% in the first quarter to $3.2 billion, while expenses climbed 2.7% year-over-year. Supply and services expenses jumped 6.5% in that time, and facilities expenses grew 6.2%. Salary and benefit expenses grew by just 0.5%.
Mayo wrote in an analysis of its results that it is leading a national program that provides patients with severe or life-threatening cases of COVID-19 with plasma from donors who have recovered from COVID-19. The plasma contains antibodies that can attack the virus and may help lessen the disease's severity.
As of May 12, more than 5,300 physicians had enrolled more than 14,700 patients into the Expanded Access Program for convalescent plasma, Mayo said. Mayo is currently preparing a safety report on the first 5,000 patients infused.
Mayo currently can perform more than 8,500 tests to detect COVID-19 and 20,000 COVID-19 antibody tests per day. To date, the health system has performed more than 220,000 COVID-19 tests nationwide, including more than 50,000 for patients in Minnesota.
Since April 10, Mayo has received about $220 million in federal funding from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund and the Provider Relief Fund. The health system also received about $915 million in advance Medicare payments.