Cleveland Clinic operating income drops by 71%

Revenues were up at the Cleveland Clinic in 2016, but higher expenses put a damper on operating income, which fell 71 percent from the year before.

In its annual release to bondholders, the 14-hospital system said revenues were up 12 percent in 2016 to a total of $8 billion. At the same time, expenses increased by 19 percent, from $6.1 billion in 2015 to $7.3 billion, driving the drop in operating income from $480.2 million to $139.9 million.

The growth in expenses was largely attributed to three areas: pharmaceutical (up 23 percent), labor (up 19 percent) and supplies costs (up 13 percent).

Accounting for nonoperating gains, net income was down by more than $100 million, dropping from $618.2 million in 2015 to $513.5 million in 2016.

Total net assets increased to just over $8 million and liabilities were up to $6.4 million.

The clinic also reported a rise in charity care costs, increase from $65 million in 2015 to $87 million in 2016, but this figure isn’t included in net patient service revenue.

Overall, the system reported a change in the payor mix among its patients. The share of Medicare patients increased to cover one-third of Cleveland Clinic’s net patient service revenue in 2016. 8 percent of net patient service revenue in 2016 came from Medicaid beneficiaries (up from 6 percent) while 57 percent came from managed care or private insurance, a drop from 60 percent in 2015 even though the overall revenue from that payor source increased year-over-year.

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John Gregory, Senior Writer

John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.

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