Major for-profit hospital operators produced mixed financial results in the fourth quarter of 2018.
1. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems reported revenues of $3.45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, up from $3.06 billion in the same period of the year prior. The company saw higher revenue despite experiencing a year-over-year decline in patient volume and owning fewer hospitals than in the fourth quarter of 2017. CHS ended the fourth quarter of 2018 with a net loss of $328 million. That's compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, when the company recorded a net loss of $2 billion.
2. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare ended the fourth quarter of 2018 with revenues of $4.62 billion, down from $4.98 billion in the same period a year earlier. Tenet said the decline was primarily due to hospital divestitures and a 76 percent year-over-year decrease in net revenues from the California Provider Fee program. Tenet reported a net loss of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to the $229 million net loss the company recorded in the same period a year earlier.
3. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare saw revenues increase 6.2 percent year over year to $12.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. The growth was partially attributable to higher patient volume. HCA ended the fourth quarter of 2018 with net income of $1.1 billion. That's compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, when the company recorded net income of $474 million.
4. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services reported revenues of $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, up 4.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. The revenue growth was partially due to increased patient admissions at UHS' acute care hospitals and behavioral healthcare facilities. UHS ended the fourth quarter of 2018 with net income of $158.1 million, compared to $219.6 million in the same period of the year prior.
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