UPMC Passavant-Cranberry is located at 1 St. Francis Way, Cranberry Township. Butler Eagle File Photo

The post-COVID financial landscape is still wreaking havoc on the UPMC, which reported an operating loss of $103 million for the quarter ending March 31.

That marks a reversal of its performance over the same period in 2023, when UPMC reported an operating profit of $100 million.

Total revenue for UPMC increased from $6.87 billion to $7.14 billion. However, that was offset by expenses which rose from $6.77 billion to $7.24 billion over 12 months.

“Ongoing pressures in the labor and supply markets as a result of inflation continue to have a negative impact on operating income, as do lower Medicare and Medicaid product underwriting margins,” wrote UPMC in its quarterly report.

Although revenue in the health services division increased from $3.98 billion to $4.12 billion over 12 months, expenses ballooned from $3.95 billion to $4.22 billion. The overall losses in UPMC’s insurance division did not help, going from a profit of $69 million in last year’s third quarter to a loss of $2 million in this year’s quarter.

Moreover, total enrollment in UPMC’s health insurance services now sits at 4,239,808, a decrease of 6% from 12 months ago, when enrollment sat at 4,505,128. The quarterly report cites the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency as a key reason for the decline in numbers, as federal programs that automatically renewed insurance for some customers expired last year.

“The decrease is primarily due to expected redeterminations within the Medical Assistance and Behavioral Health products as a result of the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency,” reads the report.

The quarterly report also indicated a slight rise in systemwide hospital usage. For the three-month period ending March 31, the UPMC system saw 495,756 total patient days, an increase over the 491,278 patient days from the equivalent period 12 months earlier. There was also a slight jump in total admissions from 86,793 last year to 88,206.

Among UPMC’s Butler County locations is UPMC Passavant-Cranberry, a 33-bed hospital with an emergency heliport, medical offices and more. There are also numerous UPMC primary care and rehabilitation centers in Butler County.

By comparison, Butler Health System — one component of Independence Health System — reported an operating loss of $6.8 million for the three-month period ending March 31. However, this was an improvement over the performance from the year before, when the hospital reported a loss of $10.11 million.