New York City Health + Hospitals ended the first six months of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss, but the system says its turnaround plan is still on track.
In the first half of FY 2017, NYC Health + Hospitals' revenues increased to $4.2 billion, up slightly from revenues of $4.1 million in the same period of the year prior. Unaudited financial statements show the system saw an increase in net patient service revenue and premium revenue from its insurance division MetroPlus.
However, expenses outpaced revenue growth in the first half of FY 2017. NYC Health + Hospitals' expenses rose to $4.9 billion in the first six months of FY 2017 from $4.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.
The system's operating loss grew to $775.6 million in the first half of FY 2017, compared to an operating loss of $420.4 million in the same period of the year prior.
A NYC Health + Hospitals spokesman told Becker's roughly $200 million of the system's operating loss in the first half of FY 2017 is attributable to the city's prepayment of its FY 2017 subsidy at the end of FY 2016. He said another roughly $270 million was attributable to depreciation and other "non-cash costs that do not impact system operations."
Despite its financial performance in the first half of the fiscal year, the system spokesman told Becker's NYC Health + Hospitals is still on track to shrink its budget gap by $779 million in FY 2017. He said the system's finances are expected to improve in the second half of the year due to supplemental funding and realized savings from its workforce reduction through attrition.
More details about the system's financial performance will be presented to the New York City Council during its FY 2018 preliminary budget hearing on Monday.
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