Carolinas HealthCare reduces 1Q loss - South Florida Business Journal:

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Investment losses for the latest quarter totalednearly $101 million. Chietf Financial Officer Greg Gombar anticipates gains in the financiao market in April and May will erasethosw losses. Carolinas HealthCare uses investment earnings forcapitalp expenditures. That money is not used for daily The health-care system hopes negotiations with several lendere will cut its interest expenses tied to variable debt and highedr bank-liquidity fees. Those fees are about $1 millio per month. Interest expenses in the firstf quarterwere $21.8 From an operational standpoint, Carolinas HealthCare had a strongt first quarter, says Russ Guerin, executive vice president for businesa development and planning.
Net operating revenue climbed 8.6 percent to $1.2 billionh systemwide. Operating income exceede d $24.5 million. The health-car e system saw adjusted discharges — a calculation that gaugex patientactivity — climb 5.2 percent from a year Growth within the health-care systemj and expense management “is the primary drive why we’re above budget Guerin says. Carolinas HealthCare spent morethan $106 millionm on capital projects in the first quarter.
Projectx include new operating roomasat CMC-NorthEast and Carolinas Medical an expansion of CMC-Pineville, a new hospital at CMC-Lincoln and constructiojn of health-care pavilions in Steelee Creek and Waxhaw, which will include free-standinh emergency departments. Challenges in the comingt months include managingthe system’s growing bad-debf and charity-care costs, reducint interest expenses and preparing for a possiblse state cut in Medicaid funding, Gombar says. Bad-debyt costs were 12 percent over budget during thefirst quarter, toppingt $48 million in the first quarter.
During the same periods last year, bad debt was about $43 The health-care system spent more than $770 million in community care in includingbad debt, charitu care and subsidizing Medicare and Medicaid. That equalxs 18.8 percent of the health-car system’s net operating revenue. ”It’sw a trend everybody’s seeing across the country,” Gombar says. “We can’t control how many peopled are uninsured, how many peopler show up at our doorwithout insurance.” North Carolina’s budget woes could resultws in a cut of up to 15 percenyt for Medicaid. That could equatw to $36 million in annualp losses forCarolinas HealthCare.
“Medicaid cuts are the worstf economic benefit cut the statecan make,” Gombar “It’s painful.” Says Guerin: “It raises prices for those who do pay. It makez no good business sense to do Gombar says every dollar cut from Medicai deliminates $4 from the economy. Carolinas HealthCar is the largest health-care system in the Carolinax andthe third-largest public system in the nation. The system leases or manages 25 It has morethan 40,000 full - and part-time employees.