Becker's Hospital Review

42 CFO / FINANCE Texas Children's operating income soars 448% in 1st 9 months of fiscal year By Ayla Ellison H ouston-based Texas Children's Hospital saw revenues and operating income increase in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018, according to unaudited financial documents released in August. Texas Children's reported revenues of $2.9 billion in the nine months ended June 30, up from revenues of $2.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. The hospital's net patient service revenue was nearly flat year over year, but its premium revenue grew 13.5 percent to $1.3 billion. On March 2, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia va- cated a CMS rule that allowed the agency to include private insurance pay- ments in the calculation that determines the amount hospitals are eligible to receive in supplemental Medicaid funding, even when Medicaid doesn't pay for the patient's care. Based on the judgment, Texas Children's recog- nized reimbursements that increased operating revenues by $45 million in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018. The hospital's expenses also increased in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Texas Children's reported operating expenses of $2.8 billion for the nine months ended June 30, up from $2.6 billion in the same period of fiscal year 2017. Texas Children's ended the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 with operating income of $105.8 million, up 448 percent from $19.3 million in the same peri- od a year earlier. n Highmark to pay ambulance companies for treating patients outside hospital By Morgan Haefner H ighmark and Allegheny Health Network, both in Pittsburgh, launched a pilot program under which Highmark will reimburse ambulance companies for some calls where patients are not taken to a hospital, according to Trib Live. Under the new "treat-and-release" program, which the organizations an- nounced Aug. 29, Highmark will contract with 16 emergency medical services. The health insurer will reimburse the companies for treating adult patients with seizure disorders, low blood sugar and asthma attacks outside the hospital. This bypasses a requirement that ambulance companies only receive payment when a patient is taken to an emergency department. Highmark did not disclose how much it will pay the ambulance companies for each call, according to the report. After patients are treated and assessed on-scene under emergency medicine physician supervision, Allegheny Health Network staff will call the patient with- in 48 hours to check in on his or her condition. "The goal of the pilot is to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and improve the overall patient experience, decrease healthcare costs and en- sure that ambulance services are paid fairly and members receive appropriate care," Highmark said in a news release obtained by Trib Live. n Comcast is reinventing employee healthcare: 4 things to know By Morgan Haefner A merica's largest cable company, Comcast, is bypassing health in- surers to tackle its medical costs directly — and has kept its healthcare costs nearly flat while other large employers watch their costs rise an average 3 percent each year, according to e New York Times. Here are four things to know about Com- cast's employee benefits: 1. In the past five years, the $169-billion company based in Philadelphia capped its healthcare cost growth at roughly 1 percent a year. Comcast spends about $1.3 billion each year on healthcare for its 225,000 employees and families. 2. e company did not widely adopt the use of high-deductible health plans to transition more healthcare costs onto employees. While many employers require workers to select a plan sporting an average $1,500 deductible, Comcast cut its deductible to $250 for most of its workers, according to NYT. 3, e company does work with some insur- ers, but it has largely turned its back on them when it comes to innovation. Comcast con- tracts with its own portfolio of companies, such as health benefits solution Accolade, to administer and guide employees through their healthcare experiences. e company invests in some of the firms, including Acco- lade, through its Comcast Ventures venture capital arm. 4. Comcast is one of the first major employ- ers to offer workers access to a physician through the telehealth company Doctor on Demand, which connects employees to phy- sicians via cellphone. e company also uses Grand Rounds, which helps employees find a physician and receive a second opinion. n

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