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HEALTHCARE
NEWS
CHS sees net
loss quadruple,
revenue sink
in Q1
By Ayla Ellison
F
ranklin, Tenn.-based Community
Health Systems, which operates 106
hospitals in 18 states, saw its net
loss swell in the first quarter of 2019.
CHS reported operating revenues of
$3.38 billion in the first quarter of this
year, down 8.5 percent from $3.69 billion
in the same period of the year prior. e
drop in revenue was partially attribut-
able to a year-over-year decline in patient
admissions and owning fewer hospitals
than in the first quarter of 2018.
Aer factoring in operating expenses and
one-time charges, CHS ended the first
quarter of 2019 with a net loss attribut-
able to stockholders of $118 million.
at's compared to the first quarter of
2018, when the company recorded a net
loss of $25 million.
CHS announced in late 2017 that it
intends to sell a group of hospitals with
combined revenue of $2 billion. e
company made progress toward that goal
in 2018 by divesting 11 hospitals and
closing three others. CHS continued its
hospital sell-off spree in the first three
months of this year.
During the first quarter of 2019, CHS
completed seven hospital divestitures.
e company has one other hospital
under definitive agreement to sell.
"e company intends to continue its
portfolio rationalization strategy during
the remainder of 2019 and is pursuing
additional interests for sale transactions,
which are currently in various stages of
negotiation with potential buyers," states
the earnings release.
e hospital divestitures said CHS reduce
its debt load. e company carried $13.88
billion in long-term debt when it an-
nounced its divestiture plan at the end of
2017. CHS' long-term debt totaled $13.39
billion as of March 31. n
Michael Kasper, CEO of DuPage Medical
Group, dies at 46
By Molly Gamble
M
ichael Kasper, CEO of Down-
ers Grove, Ill.-based DuPage
Medical Group, died May 4,
according to a statement from DMG
spokesperson Marianne Geiger.
Mr. Kasper, 46, led DMG as CEO since
2010. It is the largest independent
multispecialty physician group in Il-
linois and underwent unprecedented
growth under his leadership. In Au-
gust 2017, the medical group secured
a $1.45 billion investment from Ares
Management Private Equity Group to
enhance and support its growth initia-
tives. DMG today includes more than
700 primary care and specialty physi-
cians in more than 100 locations.
DMG issued the following statement
Monday morning:
"We are shocked and saddened by
the tragic passing of our beloved
leader and colleague, Mike Kasper.
DMG's leadership team, Board of
Directors, physicians, employees,
patients and the entire healthcare
community mourn his loss. We extend
our deepest sympathies to his wife
and children and ask that you respect
their privacy during this difficult time."
Prior to joining DMG, Mr. Kasper was
president of Humana Illinois. He has
also held executive roles with Cov-
entry Healthcare, Aetna and Kaiser
Permanente.
"Mike was an incredibly gifted and
incredibly kind leader," said Becker's
Healthcare Publisher Scott Becker. n
DOJ files formal request to strike down
entire ACA: 5 things to know
By Ayla Ellison
T
he Department of Justice argued the ACA is unconstitutional and urged a
federal judge to strike down the entire law in a brief filed in the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals on May 1, according to CNN.
Five things to know:
1. In the court filing, the Justice Department argues that the ACA's individual
insurance mandate penalty is unconstitutional and therefore the law should be
struck down in its entirety.
2. The Justice Department filed the brief roughly a month after the agency first
said it supports a judge's ruling that the entire ACA should be invalidated. The
judge sided with the Republican-led states that brought the lawsuit, Texas v. United
States, calling for the entire ACA to be struck down because Congress eliminated
the healthcare law's individual insurance mandate penalty.
3. A coalition of Democratic-led states, headed by California, is challenging the
Texas ruling.
4. Regarding the Justice Department's filing, California Attorney General Xavier
Bacerra issued the following statement to The New York Times: "The Trump ad-
ministration chose to abandon ship in defending our national healthcare law and
the hundreds of millions of Americans who depend on it for their medical care.
Our legal coalition will vigorously defend the law and the Americans President
Trump has abandoned."
5. Regardless of the outcome, the 5th Circuit's ruling is likely to be appealed to
the Supreme Court. n
