For years, Wellpath, the largest commercial provider of healthcare in jails and prisons across 37 states, has been the target of federal lawsuits and scrutiny by lawmakers for its practices that have been alleged to cause long-term health problems and the deaths of dozens of incarcerated individuals.
Mass General Brigham, the state's largest health care system, remained on solid financial ground in 2024, a news release Wednesday showed, running counter to a drumbeat of concern that the state's hospitals are all in financial jeopardy. In all, the MGB system found itself $2 billion richer in the year ending in September, almost doubling the $1.2 billion net margin the system reported the year prior. Nearly all of the profit came from the system's investment portfolio, gains that largely exist on paper, whereas its core operations operated at nearly break-even. From just its core operations, the health system reported a $46 million operating margin.
“Reference-based pricing,” which a handful of states have implemented, limits how much hospitals can charge some private insurance plans for procedures. Some say Vermont should adopt it.
Norman Regional Hospital's revenue bonds have been downgraded due to a "precipitous decline in liquidity" following the resignation of its CEO and on the heels of a major facility upgrade. Moody's Ratings has downgraded Norman Regional Hospital Authority's revenue bonds rating from Ba1, or "stable," to B1, "significant credit risk," according to a release from the firm. The assessment from Moody's suggests Norman Regional's income is not sufficient to meet its cash flow needs. "The downgrade of NRH's rating to B1 reflects a material and precipitous decline in liquidity well in excess of projections at the time of our most recent review," Moody's says. "Heavy reliance on a short-term line of credit, which is currently fully drawn, ongoing cash flow losses, and challenges with the master facility project have also contributed to the downgrade."
UPMC is blaming a $371 million operating loss on increased medical utilization and rising pharmacy costs. The $371 million loss in the first nine months of 2024 is up from the $177 million loss reported over the same span last year. The loss comes despite increasing operating revenues. UPMC from January through September generated more than $22.2 million in revenues, up from about $20.6 million at the same point last year. UPMC spent $109 million on restructuring costs in the first nine months of this year. In April, it slashed 1,000 jobs, citing post-pandemic challenges. The cuts impacted just over 1% of UPMC's more than 100,000-member workforce. UPMC recently announced it was laying off another 100 employees and eliminating 200 vacant positions in an effort to cut costs.
SUNBURY — The Sunbury Community Hospital has been vacant for nearly four years with little forward movement, even after the property was acquired by a Montour County-based economic development organization two years after it closed. The former hospital was purchased by nonprofit UPMC Susquehanna from for-profit Quorum Health on Oct. 6, 2017. UPMC closed the hospital in early 2020, leaving Sunbury without a full-scale medical center for the first time in 125 years. The property was acquired by DRIVE in mid-2022 when UMPC donated the location to the economic development group. According to Jennifer Wakeman, executive director of Driving Real Innovation for a Vibrant Economy, the organization has been marketing the property since the acquisition. Wakeman said there is some potential movement on the horizon but she declined to speak of them publicly. The property is located on approximately 12 acres. It is assessed at $2,399,200 across 20 different parcels in the same area of North 11th Street.