While many hospitals face financial hardships and rising expenses from the COVID-19 pandemic, several large health systems ended 2021 with profits above $1 billion.
These big health systems attributed the financial performance to several factors, including bigger investment gains and higher-acuity patients.
Seven health systems that posted net income of $1 billion last year:
1. Pittsburgh-based UPMC, an integrated delivery system with 40 hospitals, recorded a net income of $1.1 billion in 2021, driven by an operating income of $843 million and nonoperating gains of $810 million.
2. AdventHealth, a 48-hospital system based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., recorded a net income of $1.5 billion in 2021. The net income included an operating income of $994.6 million and investment gains of $517.7 million. In 2020, the health system's net income was $914.8 million.
3. Cleveland Clinic reported a 66.7 percent increase in net income for the 12 months ended Dec. 31. The 19-hospital system saw its net income hit $2.2 billion, including an operating income of $746.3 million and investment gains of $1.4 billion.
4. Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic's net income for 2021 was $3.6 billion, up from $2.5 billion a year earlier. The results included an operating income of $1.2 billion.
5. Driven by strong investment gains, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente recorded a net income of $8.1 billion in 2021, an increase of $1.7 billion from 2020. The sharp rise in net income from the integrated delivery system with 39 hospitals included $7.5 billion in other income, including investment gains, and $611 million in operating income for 2021.
6. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, a 182-hospital system, reported a net income of $7.7 billion in 2021, including investment gains and operating profits.
7. Tenet Healthcare, a 60-hospital system based in Dallas, reported net income of $1.5 billion on revenues of $19.5 billion in 2021. Tenet ended the 12-month period with an operating income of $2.9 billion, up from $2 billion recorded one year before. It also recorded losses on nonoperating activities and said its results for the year ending Dec. 31 included a pretax gain of $406 million associated with the divestiture of five Miami area hospitals, as well as stimulus funds totaling $205 million.