Becker's Hospital Review

21 CFO / FINANCE Vermont health system cuts jobs, wages to stay afloat By Ayla Ellison S pringfield (Vt.) Medical Care Systems is cutting 27 jobs and reducing wages as part of a $6.5 million cost-cutting plan, according to Valley News. Jobs will be cut across the organization, and the wage reductions will go into effect Feb. 24. Salaried positions will receive a 10 percent cut, and hourly staff will have wages cut by 4 percent, according to the report. "These decisions are incredibly difficult, and we have worked hard to limit staffing reductions as we begin the turnaround necessary to stabilize this organization so that we can provide great care now and in the future," George Lamb, chairman of the health system's board, said in a press release, according to Valley News. SMCS announced the layoffs and wage reductions after the Ver- mont Agency of Human Services and Berkshire Bank each loaned the system $800,000 so it could make payroll. The system would have run out of money Jan. 30 if it had not received the loans, ac- cording to the report. The health system said additional staffing adjustments may need to be made to cut costs. n Baylor Scott & White's net income falls 55% By Morgan Haefner D allas-based Baylor Scott & White Health saw its revenue in- crease in the first half of fiscal year 2019, but losses on in- vestments dragged down its bottom line. The health system reported operating revenue of $4.9 billion in the six months ended Dec. 31, up 2 percent from $4.8 billion in the same period a year prior, according to unaudited financial docu- ments. Baylor Scott & White attributed the increase to an uptick in net patient revenues thanks to higher outpatient registrations, clinic visits and patient encounters. At the same time, salaries, wages and supply costs increased the health system's expenses. Baylor Scott & White recorded total op- erating expenses of $4.5 billion in the first half of fiscal 2019, up 1.4 percent year over year from $4.4 billion. Baylor Scott & White did see an increase in operating income in the first half of fiscal 2019. The system reported operating income of $415.8 million, up 8.4 percent from the same period in fiscal year 2018. How- ever, nonoperating losses pulled down the health system's bottom line. Baylor Scott & White recorded a $186.8 million loss on investments for the first six months of fiscal 2019, compared to a $111.8 million gain on investments during the same period in fiscal 2018. After including nonoperating results, Baylor Scott & White ended the first half of fiscal 2019 with net income of $267.7 million, down 55 per- cent from $595.5 million reported at the same time a year prior. n Zuckerberg hospital puts balance billing on hold By Kelly Gooch Z uckerberg San Francisco General Hospital is tempo- rarily halting balance billing as it finalizes a plan to ad- dress billing issues long term, the hospital announced. Balance billing occurs when privately insured patients receive trauma or emergency services from an out-of- network provider and are billed for the balance aer the insurance company pays its portion. For 90 days, the hospital will not initiate or continue balance billing. "We will hold these patients' bills and then follow the new [long-term] policy once it is in place," hospital spokesper- son Brent Andrew told Becker's. "We will continue to bill insurance companies for services during this time." Privately insured patients could still be le with high bills because the halt isn't retroactive, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. It is also unclear whether patients treated during the tem- porary billing suspension will be billed when the 90 days is up, Vox reported. Zuckerberg San Francisco General — renamed aer Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Pris- cilla Chan, MD, donated $75 million to the hospital — is San Francisco's largest public hospital and houses a level 1 trauma center. Although the hospital primarily treats Medicare, Medic- aid and uninsured patients, it has been in the news since a Vox report revealed the hospital is out of network with all private health plans. Greg Wagner, MD, acting director of the San Francis- co Department of Public Health, and Susan Ehrlich, MD, CEO of Zuckerberg hospital, on Feb. 1 announced some of the measures that will be taken to address billing is- sues. ey include making financial assistance easier to get; improving patient communications; establishing an out-of-pocket limits for patient payments; and study- ing hospital charges regionally to ensure fair practices and prices at Zuckerberg. "e billing practices at Zuckerberg San Francisco Gen- eral Hospital and Trauma Center for privately insured patients who receive trauma and emergency services are not working for some of our patients," Dr. Wagner said in a news release. "Keeping the patients' experience as the focal point, we will explore ways to protect patients from financial hardship, increase participation in financial as- sistance programs, and where possible, recover costs for services from insurers to avoid lost revenues to the city." n

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