HCA and Community Health Systems recorded higher profits for the second quarter despite weak volume and higher overall costs for uninsured patients.
Nashville-based HCA said it earned $293 million in the quarter compared with $282 million in 2009's second quarter. Revenue increased 3.6% to $7.76 billion. On a same-facility basis, admissions declined 0.3%, but equivalent admissions increased 1.6%, when comparing the two quarters. HCA said total uncompensated care costs (the sum of bad debt, uninsured discounts and charity care) increased to 26.1% of the sum of net revenue, uninsured discounts and charity care vs. 23.7% in the year-ago quarter.
HCA said it is still considering the best time to launch the initial public offering it announced in May.
Community, Franklin, Tenn., said it earned $70.1 million in the quarter, compared with $59.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased 5.1% to $3.17 billion.
On a same-facility basis, admissions declined 2.5% and adjusted admissions declined 0.9%. About a third of the decline in admissions, Community said, came from delivering fewer newborns—something both companies cited as evidence of the weak economy affecting volumes. Total uncompensated care was 19.9% of the sum of net revenue, discounts and charity care in the quarter, up from 18.9% in the year-ago quarter. Unlike HCA, Community said it actually treated fewer self-pay patients in the more recent quarter.