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Updated 12 minutes ago
Allegheny Health Network reported an operating loss of $39 million for 2016, more than the hospital system projected it would lose for the year amid rebuilding efforts by owner Highmark Health.
The system anticipated an operating loss of $29.3 million for the year in projections filed with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
Revenues of about $745 million exceeded expectations for the year, but expenses were also higher than expected, driving the loss. Inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, surgical visits and births were higher than in 2015, AHN spokesman Dan Laurent said in an email, but patient visits still lagged slightly behind 2016 projections, according to the filing.
The system spent more than expected on improving billing functions of the system – hiring a new chief revenue cycle officer and restructuring Betnano processes to make sure the hospital is paid correctly, Laurent said.
The system reported a smaller net loss than expected – $40 million rather than $43 million, according to the filing.
The hospital system added a 48-bed cardiac care unit and a surgery training center at Allegheny General Hospital, expanded its labor and delivery unit at Forbes Hospital, opened an orthopedic and sports medicine center in Cool Springs and built a Health + Wellness Pavilion outpatient center in Erie.
The hospital system continued investments in the Epic electronic health record system, which it has implemented at AGH and at West Penn Hospital.
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