In the first quarter of 2013, for-profit hospitals recorded evidently low volumes and admissions, but according to a report from Fitch Ratings, the recovering economy is not the sole reason behind the slow growth.
Fitch analysts said in many markets, hospitals are "experiencing some systemic shifts in care delivery" that go beyond historically low rates of healthcare spending growth. Specifically, healthcare is crossing over into the threshold of becoming a consumer-driven industry, where patient behavior is being dictated more by value-based decisions and higher patient responsibility for medical costs.
Overall, same-hospital admissions in the for-profit hospital sector dropped 3.8 percent in the first quarter, compared with the first quarter of 2012. Same-hospital adjusted admissions fell 2.7 percent. Many executives said the drop in volumes was due to the Leap Day in 2012 and an early Easter holiday this past March.
However, the weak volumes still didn't stop the industry from making a large profit, mostly due to hospitals seeing higher-acuity patients. In the most recent quarter, the nine largest investor-owned hospital chains recorded more than $527.4 million in net profit on roughly $20.7 billion of cumulative net revenue. Most of that total came from the largest operator, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corp. of America.
More Articles on Hospitals and Fitch Reports:
Fitch: Children's Hospitals Well-Positioned to Handle Reform
Fitch: Value-Based Payments Are Non-Profit Hospitals' Greatest Challenge
Fitch: For-Profit Hospital Mergers Still Spurred by Affordable Care Act