Here’s to a better year for hospitals
On Tuesday, in a cover story by Eagle staff writer Austin Uram, we read about what Ken DeFurio, president and CEO of Independence Health System, referred to as significant “headwinds caused by years of the COVID-19 pandemic” for not just the system, but “all health systems.”
Independence Health System became the parent company of Butler Memorial Hospital a year ago, when Butler Health Systems merged with Excela Health.
Butler Health Systems continues to maintain its own finances, and for two years running, the system has operated in the red.
But ...
“If you look closely, you will see that no provider in our region is immune from the financial storm,” DeFurio said in a letter to employees of the health system. “Economic conditions are affecting all health systems.”
All health systems.
This is not a situation unique to Butler.
“Last week, UPMC disclosed that it had suffered an operating loss from provider operations of $325 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30,” he wrote.
DeFurio’s Nov. 21 opinion column in the Butler Eagle addressed the distinct demands on health systems amid rising costs.
“For years, the payments we receive for services have fallen far short of inflation,” he wrote. “We are dependent on government payments from Medicare and Medicaid, and payments from employer sponsored health insurance.”
DeFurio said health systems must provide treatment — regardless of pay.
“Unlike other businesses, we cannot simply raise prices in response to increased costs,” he wrote. “To be paid adequately, we rely on adequate government payments, and we must negotiate contracts.”
Hospitals are tough places to operate. They are often among the largest employers wherever they are. They have to operate under intense government regulations. They have incredibly complex financial situations. They have to maintain massive physical structures. They have to juggle contracts with service providers in innumerable fields. They have computer networks that require tough secrecy. They have bills to pay, kitchens to operate, bathrooms to clean, and on and on ...
This list doesn’t even get to the patient care. It’s AMAZING what it takes to keep a hospital going. Those with broken arms and infected gall bladders and babies ready to be born need a place to go for help.
It’s important that hospitals continue to function at 110% so ambulances have a ready and able place to bring the victim of a car accident.
Is the level of care people expect of a hospital — any hospital — sustainable under current circumstances? What can be done to shift the headwinds?
DeFurio says there’s a plan to improve finances of BHS. For the good of the employees and patients of BHS and all health systems, here’s hoping finances can be improved.
— RJ
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