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FINANCE
IU Health gives medical school $416M
By Marissa Plescia
I
ndianapolis-based Indiana Universi-
ty Health donated $416 million to the
Indiana University School of Medicine,
more than any donation it's given the school
in the last decade, as it faces questions about
its prices and profits, Indiana Business Jour-
nal reported March 7.
IU Health and the medical school have not
formally announced the donation, according
to the Journal.
A critic of the system told the Journal the con-
tribution seems to be a way to make the sys-
tem's profits fall below $1 billion in 2021. IU
Health reported $861.5 million in total earn-
ings in 2021, compared to $1.11 billion in 2020.
"It looks like it was an attempt to reduce
their profitability so it didn't look like it was
so high," said Al Hubbard, chair of Hoosiers
for Affordable Healthcare, a nonprofit con-
sumer organization.
IU Health told the Journal the money will be
used to support education and research at the
school, as well as recruitment, diversity and
inclusion. e system also said it gave a larger
amount than last year to support programs to
improve health outcomes in the state.
"It is important that Hoosiers have access to
cutting-edge, destination medicine and top
doctors. at cannot happen without signif-
icant resources to compete with other large
academic health systems across the nation,"
IU Health told the Journal.
IU Health officials said a public announce-
ment of the gi would be made this year.
A 2020 Rand study found IU Health's pric-
es were 33 percent higher than the national
average. e system announced in Decem-
ber that it would freeze its prices for the
next four years to bring costs in line with
the national average. n
3 health systems
that recorded annual
operating losses
By Alia Paavola
D
espite seeing stable or higher revenue year over
year, several health systems that recorded results in
March ended 2021 with significant operating losses.
Many of the health systems attributed the operating losses
to expenses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, including ris-
ing contract labor and supply costs.
For example, Providence, a 52-hospital system based in
Renton, Wash., ended 2021 with an operating loss of $714
billion despite seeing a 6 percent increase in net revenue.
In 2020, Providence recorded an operating loss of $306
million. The health system attributed the operating loss to
expenses, which rose 10 percent compared to 2020.
Additionally, New York City-based Montefiore Health Sys-
tem saw its operating loss swell to $294 million in 2021. In
2020, the health system posted a $14.7 million operating
loss. The 10-hospital system's operating revenue fell slight-
ly in the year, by less than 1 percent, while its expenses
increased 3.8 percent.
The same trend was seen for Detroit-based Henry Ford
Health System. The system reported a 4.7 percent increase
in total revenue but an 11 percent increase in expenses
in 2021 compared to 2020. Overall, the health system,
which operates five acute care hospitals and two psychiat-
ric hospitals, ended 2021 with an operating loss of $168.2
million. The previous year, it had an operating income of
$225.6 million. n
'How do regular people with
low income pay for that?':
$36K hospital bill goes
viral on TikTok
By Alia Paavola
A
video discussing the cost of delivering a baby in
California went viral on TikTok.
TikTok user Linguamarina posted a video March
13 detailing her experience of giving birth in a California
hospital. She said her delivery took 20 minutes and aside
from a tear that needed stitches, the birth was smooth and
without complications.
A few weeks after giving birth the mother received a hos-
pital bill totalling more than $36,000 for the birth and a
single-night hospital stay. After insurance, the mother was
on the hook for $2,200.
The video went viral, with more than 16.6 million views
and 2.2 million likes as of March 16.
Users in the comment section, many who said they
were from other countries, expressed shock at the high
hospital bill.
"How do regular people with low income pay for that?"
asked one user. "Serious question."
"Even the $2,000 is insane to me," another user wrote. "How
do people honestly have two to four children willingly?"
"I will never understand this," another user wrote. n
