Competition, recruitment costs slash operating income at UPMC

Increased competition from other insurers and the cost of recruiting new doctors led to a drop in UPMC?s income in the July-September quarter. Western Pennsylvania's largest hospital system reported operating income of $72.3 million, a decline of more than 50 percent from the same period a year ago, when it had operating income of $153.3 million. The system employed 3,321 doctors as of Sept. 30, up from 2,954 on Sept. 30, 2011. While admissions are declining, DeMichiei said UPMC is outperforming the trend in Western Pennsylvania, which had admissions drop 2.5 percent during the same time period.