Partners HealthCare Report Substantial Drop Of Income of 25%

When it comes to healthcare news, Partners is no stranger. Recently in the news the Department of Justice opened an inquiry as to how they were able to substantiate larger compensation contracts compared to other hospitals in the Boston area.

How Does Partners HealthCare Negotiate Those Higher Compensation Schedules from Insurers – Department of Justice Wants to Find Out

Currently there is money in the bank so nobody is in dire straights yet. During the Madoff affair, several hospitals were hit in the pocket book there as well, with either investments or sources of donations and philanthropy dwindling away. BD

State panel to examine payments to Partners Hospitals in Boston – Other hospitals in the State are looking for a bail out…

Faced with flat patient volume, higher expenses, and a shortfall from government payments, Partners HealthCare System Inc. today reported a 35 percent drop in its income for the second quarter.

The income decline to $22.5 million for the three months ending March 31, compared with $34.5 million during the same period a year ago, comes as Boston-based Partners finds itself at the center of a growing debate over how to contain rising medical costs in Massachusetts.

Last month, the US Justice Department opened a civil investigation into possible anti-competitive behavior by Partners, the region's most powerful hospital and physician network. Earlier this year, Attorney General Martha Coakley issued a report pointing to the market cloud of some health care providers, including Partners, as a principal driver of increasing medical costs in the state.

For the second quarter, Partners said its operating income fell to $13.1 million from $36 million a year ago. That was partly offset by nonoperating income of $9 million, mostly from investments, compared with an investment loss of $1.6 million last year when the stock market tumbled.

Partners, like other health care providers, also saw its shortfall from government payments widen as higher costs outstripped increases in payments from Medicare and Medicaid, the federal programs that insure senior citizens and low-income people.

Partners HealthCare reports lower income - Daily Business Update - The Boston Globe