Becker's Hospital Review

8 CFO / FINANCE Florida hospital under investigation for price gouging, governor says By Ayla Ellison L arkin Community Hospital in Hiale- ah, Fla., is being investigated for price gouging after it reportedly charged indi- viduals $150 for COVID-19 tests, according to TV station WSVN. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who asked the state's attorney general to launch the in- vestigation into the for-profit hospital, said the $150 fee "is not acceptable," according to CBS Miami. "There always seems to be people who want to use unfortunate circumstances someone finds themselves in, for their own personal gain or business gain," the governor said at a March 27 press briefing, according to CBS Miami. "And unfortunately, we are seeing that here with this virus." Larkin Community Hospital CEO Jack Michel, MD, who confirmed the hospital does charge $150 for the COVID-19 test, told CBS Miami that no one from the state had contacted him when he heard the governor's comments. Dr. Michel said he would contact the attorney general's of- fice and cooperate in any investigation. "If they believe this is something illegal, then we will stop doing it," he told CBS Miami. "If we need to shut it down, we'll shut it down. But we hope we don't have to. We need to test more people." n Mayo Clinic furloughs, cuts hours of 30,000 employees to help offset $3B in pandemic losses By Alia Paavola R ochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic said it will furlough or cut the hours of about 30,000 staff members to help offset about $3 billion in losses incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Post Bulletin. Mayo Clinic announced that it would need to take several cost cutting measures, including furloughs, earlier in April. However, the system didn't disclose the number of employees that would be affected. The temporary reduction in workforce is one of the ways the system is working to offset a $3 billion loss from the pandemic. Even with the cost-cutting measures, Mayo anticipates a $900 million shortfall this year. The furloughs or reduced hours affect about 42 percent of Mayo Clinic's 70,000 employees across its campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Affected employees will still receive healthcare benefits. The furloughs will begin in May and be spread throughout the rest of the year, Mayo Clinic spokesperson Ginger Plumbo told The Post Bul- letin at the time of publication. The duration of the furlough will vary depending on the hospital unit, she added. The furloughs will not affect physicians at the system, but physicians will receive a 10 percent wage reduction. In addition, senior managers will receive pay cuts of 15 percent and top executives will take a 20 percent reduction. The furloughs, cut hours and wage reductions are expected to save $1.4 billion. Mayo Clinic also has been taking other cost-cutting measures, includ- ing a hiring freeze and halting major construction projects. Mayo Clinic is also tapping into its reserves to bring $900 million in cash to the system. n HCA records 44% drop in profit, pulls 2020 guidance By Ayla Ellison H CA Healthcare, a 186-hospital sys- tem based in Nashville, Tenn., said its revenue increased and its profit de- clined in the first quarter of this year, which ended March 31. HCA posted revenue of $12.9 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 2.7 percent from the same period a year earlier when revenue totaled $12.5 billion, including $86 million from an ar- bitration agreement HCA finalized with a pay- er. e company said same-hospital admissions were up less than 1 percent year over year, while same-facility emergency room visits, inpatient surgeries and outpatient surgeries declined. "Patient volumes across most services were significantly impacted in the last two weeks of the quarter as various COVID-19 poli- cies were implemented by federal and state governments," HCA said. HCA ended the first quarter of this year with net income of $581 million, down 44 percent from $1.04 billion in the same period last year. During the first quarter of 2020, HCA record- ed losses of $295 million on retirement of debt and a $7 million gain on the sales of facilities. In its earnings release, HCA said it has taken several steps to enhance financial and opera- tional flexibility during the COVID-19 pan- demic, including cost-reduction initiatives, scaling back capital expenditures, suspend- ing its share repurchase program, executing a new $2 billion loan facility, and requesting accelerated Medicare payments authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. HCA said COVID-19's ultimate effect on its financial and operating results this year will depend on several factors, most of which the company is unable to forecast. As a result, HCA is withdrawing its 2020 financial guid- ance issued in February. n

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