Soldotna, Alaska-based Central Peninsula Hospital saw net income plummet about 93 percent through the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, according to a Peninsula Clarion report.
The hospital recorded about $1.5 million in net income through the fourth quarter of this year, down from $24 million in the same period a year prior. Central Peninsula Hospital CEO Rick Davis presented the numbers at a meeting Aug. 15.
The hospital's nonprofit operator, Central Peninsula General Hospital, also in Soldotna, said the expected drop in revenue largely reflects decreased Medicaid reimbursement. Mr. Davis said the hospital took a 5 percent deduction in Medicaid payments this year.
"Medicaid's been flat now for three years. And the physicians are taking a 12 percent decrease effective July 1," Mr. Davis told Peninsula Clarion.
Mr. Davis added declining patient volumes and its EHR implementation, initiated in September, bogged net income. EHR transition resulted in about six to eight weeks of ceased supply billing for Central Peninsula Hospital. During the time, Mr. Davis said the hospital "ended up losing quite a bit of revenue."
However, Central Peninsula Hospital saw uncompensated care fall almost 40 percent from fiscal year 2016 to this year due to Medicaid expansion, the report states. The hospital also recently opened a medical detox facility in Soldotna, and is planning a transitional living facility for the detox patients. This is in addition to a $40 million expansion planned for its obstetric and gynecology facilities and a new catheterization lab.
Mr. Davis told Peninsula Clarion despite the financial pressures, "we're responding accordingly and things are turning around for us."