Stocks of hospital operators are falling harder than the broader market on Friday after earnings reports from Tenet Healthcare Corp. and industry-giant HCA Healthcare Inc. underwhelmed investors. Tenet plunged by as much as 29%, the most intraday since November 2008, after its net operating revenue guidance for the year was trimmed, taking the outlook below the average view on Wall Street. HCA fell as much as 12% after its third-quarter results included revenue that narrowly missed consensus expectations, erasing more than $6 billion in value from its market cap.
Hospitals here hope to cut costs by decreasing their reliance on travel nurses after labor expenses increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’ll likely have to pay staff nurses somewhat more to do so. Shelby Stokoe, chief financial officer for the Providence Inland Northwest Washington service area, says she had hoped to see hospitals begin to recover financially from the pandemic this year, but the opposite has occurred.
HCA Healthcare Inc on Friday reported lower-than-expected third-quarter revenue as hospital admissions related to COVID-19 dropped, dragging its shares nearly 5% lower in premarket trade. The decline in COVID-related admissions, which had peaked due to the Delta variant-led wave last year, led to a 1.5% drop in overall same-facility admissions, and a 3.5% fall in same-facility revenue per equivalent admission.
Hospitals in Nebraska are facing some of the strongest financial headwinds in decades, and inaction by public officials will limit access to healthcare services. While our hospitals remain steadfast in their commitment to compassionately care for every Nebraskan and to turn no one away, these facilities cannot weather the current workforce and inflation crisis without financial support.
Healthcare is uniquely inefficient in the United States, as we have the most expensive system in the world, but we do not get the best outcomes. Healthcare costs have generally grown faster than the overall economy since the 1970s. The rising cost of healthcare is one of the key drivers of the country’s mounting national debt and is anticipated to continue rising, posing a threat to our economic future and the well-being of every American.
Cook County officials announced ambulance service will return to South Side medical center again after being stopped more than a decade ago because of budgetary reasons.