The Boston-based health system, days after the sudden retirement announcement from its CEO, released its Q1 earnings report.
Partners HealthCare experienced a quarterly loss of $463 million, including a non-operating loss of $601 million, according to its Q1 earnings report released Friday morning.
This was a significant contrast to Partners' Q1 2018 earnings report, when the system recorded an overall gain of $322 million.
The system did post $138 million in operating income for the quarter which ended December 31, 2018, a year-over-year increase of $23 million. However, insurance activity contributed an operating loss of $4 million, which contrasted with the $38 million gain made during Q1 2018.
The Boston-based system's earnings report was released days after CEO David Torchiana, MD, suddenly announced his retirement effective in April.
Care New England Health System, a Providence, Rhode Island–based system stated last week that it expects its merger plans with Partners to continue on in spite of the leadership changes ahead.
Related: Care New England Confident in Partners Deal Despite Torchiana's Retirement
Provider activity remained a strong sector for Partners in Q1, with revenue increasing $308 million to $3.2 billion, and net patient service revenue reaching $2.5 billion based on "higher patient acuity" and the inclusion of Mass Eye & Ear, which joined the system in April 2018.
Meanwhile, operating expenses attributable to provider activity mounted to $3.1 billion, up $242 million, employee compensation and benefits totalled $1.7 billion, as well as supplies and other expenses nearly reaching $800 million.
C-suite perspective:
"This is one of the strongest quarters we have experienced in quite a while, enabled by the collaborative efforts of the Mass General, Brigham Health and the rest of our hospitals and physician organizations through our Partners 2.0 initiative and other efforts to grow revenue, manage expenses and deliver more efficient clinical care," Peter K. Markell, CFO of Partners HealthCare, said in a statement. "It is a strong start to the fiscal year, and we expect that these collaborative efforts will continue to deliver strong operating results over the next three quarters."
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The overall quarterly loss amounted to $463 million, though the non-operating loss was higher at $601 million.
The Boston-based system also experienced $334 million in Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Safety Net shortfalls.
These financials come less than a week after CEO David Torchiana, MD, announced his retirement in April.