With expenses outpacing revenue growth and labor expenses continuing to rise, 2024 is going to be another challenging year for hospitals across the country, Dan Rieber, CFO of Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, told Becker's.
Mr. Rieber said that in Colorado, more than 70 percent of hospitals have unsustainable operating margins. As the largest provider of Medicaid services in Colorado and with charity care and undercompensated care expenses growing, UCHealth is experiencing these same challenges.
"Given this outlook, the thing I'm most optimistic about is all the ways that UCHealth is using innovation to face these challenges," he said. "Whether it's expanding our offerings through primary care, behavioral health and virtual health, or developing new support roles within our hospitals that allow our nurses and providers to work at the top of their scope, our teams at UCHealth continue to find ways to ensure our patients receive the very best care.
"We are committed to providing services to keep patients healthy and thriving and out of the hospital. We seek out partnerships to advance our mission and address social determinants of health, and we have partnered with Intermountain Health to integrate our clinically integrated networks with comprehensive patient resources. The venture is bringing together 700 primary care physicians and hundreds of clinics and hospitals to improve care coordination for more than 400,000 Colorado residents at lower costs.
"These initiatives and more promise to help us deliver excellent care, support our staff members and providers, and continue our efforts to improve lives throughout our region."