Sutter Health posts $402 million in operating income for 2014
Total income of $402 million represented 4 percent of revenue.
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Summit Campus in Oakland, California photo by Coolcaesar via Wikimedia Commons
Sutter Health's financial performance for 2014 surpassed its previous year's income by over $100 million, according to figures released by the healthcare network of doctors, hospitals and other service providers.
Total income for 2014 was $402 million, or 4 percent of revenue, compared to $300 million in 2013, according to figures released by the second largest health system in Northern California.
Operating revenues totaled $10.2 billion in 2014 compared to $9.6 billion in 2013.
Sutter Health's combined 2014 operating income from the day-to-day operations of its hospitals, care centers and other services was $419 million, compared to a loss of $22 million in 2013.
"We're pleased that our operating performance improved in 2014 and our balance sheet continues to be strong and sound," said Sutter Health President and CEO Pat Fry.
Medi-Cal accounted for 19 percent of Sutter Health's gross patient service revenues in 2014, compared to 16 percent in 2013.
With the implementation of the ACA, greater numbers of previously uninsured people now have healthcare coverage.
In March, Sutter Health announced it was expanding its Sutter Health Plus HMO to Sonoma County.
The Sutter Health Plus offered a way for the $9 billion nonprofit health system to compete with Kaiser Permanente and reduce dependence on commercial payers such as Blue Shield of California.
Sutter Health and Blue Shield recently agreed to extend their contract for two years, after talks almost fell apart amid the insurer's allegations that Sutter's 23 hospitals and 5,000 physicians consistently demanded reimbursement 20 to 30 percent higher than all other regional hospitals. Sutter disputed those numbers.
