The recession hasn’t made its mark on the Hospital Corporation of America’s balance sheets. While most economic sectors saw numbers spiral down in the last three months of 2008, revenues for Nashville-based HCA increased by 5.6 percent over the previous quarter. That’s an almost 7 percent increase over the same period last year.
CEO Richard Bracken says the number of hospital admissions and emergency room visits went up while bad debt and uninsured patients seeking care at HCA facilities decreased.
“As an organization, generally, we performed somewhat better as the year progressed. Our last two quarters, on many measures, were better than our first two. It’s good to start into 2009 with some momentum.”
With the possibility of changes to the nation’s healthcare policy, plus the overall economy, Bracken acknowledges that 2009 may be a difficult year. He isn’t willing to speculate on the extent to which HCA may be affected, but says the company’s strategies “must be flexible.” Bracken says HCA may benefit from the federal stimulus package and the expansion of the nation’s healthcare program for children, known as SCHIP.
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