You might think a global health crisis would be a financial boon to hospitals. The coronavirus pandemic has had the opposite effect. Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of the Yale New Haven Health system, has said the crisis may in the end result a $500 million operating loss in its budget without expense mitigation. The pandemic’s […]
You might think a global health crisis would be a financial boon to hospitals. The coronavirus pandemic has had the opposite effect.
Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of the Yale New Haven Health system, has said the crisis may in the end result a $500 million operating loss in its budget without expense mitigation.
The pandemic’s financial implications are evolving, Borgstrom said, and the losses may be higher.
The health system includes not only Yale New Haven Hospital but Bridgeport and Greenwich Hospitals, Lawrence+Memorial Hospital in New London and Westerly (R.I.) Hospital.
While the health system received some $200 million in federal funds, some in the form of loans and some for deficit mitigation, it hasn’t been enough to cover the anticipated losses.
The biggest reason for the financial losses? While hospitals have had more COVID-19 patients to treat, other patients, such as those with cancer and heart problems, have stayed away, worried about catching the virus themselves.
That avoidance and the postponement of surgeries and procedures has meant lost revenue. At one point, Borgstrom estimated YNHH was losing $1.5 million a day.
YNHH suspended or reduced certain elective surgeries in mid-March, but continued emergency surgeries all along. In recent weeks, it has been phasing in more surgeries, starting with the most urgent.
In mid-May, health system officials reported performing only about 20 percent of the typical number of surgeries.
Before the pandemic, the system typically operated at over 90-percent capacity. As of mid-June, patient capacity had rebounded to about 66 percent, according to Borgstrom.
Hospital officials say patients with the most urgent needs, such as heart and cancer patients, have returned for care. Those who need care for other specialties, such as pediatrics and orthopedics, have been slower to return, however.
It is a situation faced by hospitals around the state. The giant YNHH system is better positioned to withstand the crisis than some small community hospitals, such as 160-bed Griffin Hospital in Derby. Griffin also paid for renovations to handle coronavirus patients, and saw non-COVID patients stay away. Griffin has had to institute staff furloughs to save money.
According to the Connecticut Hospital Association, its members may lose a combined $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year.
What the future holds for area hospitals remains to be seen. It largely depends on the future of the pandemic, if the trend of returning patients continues upward, and whether federal and state governments will help fill the financial gaps.
