Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health posted a $9.5 million loss for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 WJHL reported Dec. 20.
Hospital finances are taking a hit as pandemic-era federal aid dries up, the report said. In the first quarter of 2023, which ended Sept. 30, Ballad received $109,000 in Cares Act COVID-19 relief funds, compared to the $63 million the health system received in the full fiscal year of 2022.
Additionally, Ballad spent $12.6 million more on salaries, wages, benefits and contract labor for the first quarter of 2023 than it did for the first quarter of 2022.
"I don't think we have an expense problem right now," Ballad CEO Alan Levine told WJHL. "I think we have more of a per-unit revenue problem and that's what we've got to focus on. So I don't worry about it; I don't think our board is worried about it. I think we're very focused on what is the solution."