Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente reported higher revenue and net income for its nonprofit hospital and health plan units in the third quarter of 2019.
Kaiser saw operating revenue increase to $20.9 billion in the third quarter of 2019. That's up 5.3 percent from operating revenue of $19.9 billion in the third quarter of last year. The health system said the boost was driven by changes in member mix. Kaiser saw health plan membership increase year over year to 12.2 million.
Kaiser's operating expenses also grew year over year. In the third quarter, the health system's operating expenses totaled $20.3 billion, compared to $19.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. Kaiser reported operating income of $615 million in the third quarter of 2019, down from $636 million in the third quarter of 2018.
The health system's nonoperating income, generated largely by returns on investments, totaled $556 million in the third quarter of this year, up from $248 million in the same period a year earlier.
Kaiser reported net income of $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2019, up from $884 million in the third quarter of last year.
"A strong financial position allows us to make investments in technology, infrastructure, and our people," Kaiser Executive Vice President and CFO Kathy Lancaster said in a Nov. 8 press release. "It is vital that we maintain fiscal discipline to drive affordability and continue to be dynamic in a volatile and challenging health care environment."
During the third quarter of 2019, Kaiser said it spent $891 million on technology and upgrading and opening new facilities.
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