Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, including Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, reported its third-quarter operating revenue increased nearly 7 percent year over year. However, Kaiser ended the third quarter of fiscal year 2015 with a $115 million net loss.
In the third quarter of last year, Kaiser reported net income of $997 million, and the system said volatility in the financial markets is to blame for the net loss in the third quarter of this year. Kaiser reported a net nonoperating loss of $478 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared to a gain on its investments of $229 million a year earlier.
The health giant also saw its operating income plummet in the third quarter, falling nearly 53 percent year over year. Kaiser said one of the factors influencing its third-quarter operating income was affordable customer and member rates. "These favorable rates have contributed to growth of nearly 40,000 new members this quarter across individual, group commercial, Medicare and Medicaid membership," according to Kaiser.
Kathy Lancaster, executive vice president and CFO at Kaiser, said the system is "on track for the year…We had an extraordinary year in 2014, so we expected some fluctuations this year and were well prepared for them. We are proud that our cost structure improvements are firmly in place to help insulate our members' rates from external volatility," she said.
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