Medical doctor Anuradha Paranjape sees a patient at Denver Health in Denver on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Denver Health was one of two hospital systems to lose money in the first quarter of 2024. The other four were profitable because of increased demand for care, and in some cases, one-time federal payments. Most Colorado hospital systems had a profitable start to 2024, a financial rebound following a difficult year when expenses grew faster than their incomes.
The stock market’s strong start to the year also helped raise investment income, and the federal government had to make a one-time payment to hospitals it previously underpaid, he said. CommonSpirit moved into the black when it added investment income, which brought it to a $244 million profit in the first quarter. During the same period last year, it still lost $207 million, even with investments added in., though neither disclosed the terms. CommonSpirit had gone out-of-network for about two weeks after the two sides couldn’t agree on rates.
Unlike the other health systems in Colorado, HCA is a for-profit company, so it pays taxes and doesn’t submit the same filings that nonprofits do. Asaid revenues were up, but didn’t include the profit margin or information about expenses. Executives felt confident enough in the results to pay a dividend of 66 cents per share to people who own HCA stock, though.
Investment gains also increased, from $445 million in the first three months of 2023 to $623 million in the first quarter of this year.