HMA reported earnings of $25.4 million, up from $10.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Revenue also increased 5.8 percent to $1.12 billion, according to the report.
HMA reported significantly higher patient volume, including admissions (5.4 percent; 7 percent when adjusted for outpatient volume) and emergency room (13 percent) visits, which it attributed to its physician recruitment and other successful operating strategies. Some analysts said in the report that the surge in emergency-room visits, a decline in revenue per adjusted admission and a higher expense ratio for unpaid medical bills indicated an increase in uninsured patient volume for HMA.
HMA officials noted that uninsured patients comprised 7.7 percent of total third-quarter admissions, and uninsured admissions rose 17 percent year over year. The H1N1 flu outbreak also contributed to higher ER volumes, according to the report.
Read the WSJ’s report about HMA’s third-quarter increase in admissions.
