Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente reported $935 million in operating income for the first quarter up from a $233 million operating income reported in the same quarter last year, according to its May 10 financial report. Its operating margin grew from 0.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 3.4% in the first quarter of this year.
For the three months ended March 31, Kaiser's health plan, hospitals and their respective subsidiaries posted operating revenues of $27.4 billion and operating expenses of $26.5 billion, up from $25.2 billion and $25 billion respectively over the same period in 2023.
Kaiser said its operating income was below historical first-quarter trends leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. It said continuing cost pressures "familiar to the entire health sector" in the first quarter included high utilization, care acuity, and the high costs of goods and services.
Net income excluding Risant Health's acquisition of Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger was $2.7 billion, according to the report. The acquisition of Geisinger resulted in a one-time nonoperating gain of $4.6 billion. Including the acquisition, Kaiser posted a net income of $7.4 billion for the quarter. It posted a net income of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
Kaiser's health plan has 12.6 million members as of March 31, an increase of 66,000 since Dec. 31, according to the report.
"At Kaiser Permanente, we continue to manage through the challenges that face health care to provide a high-quality and affordable health care experience to our nearly 12.6 million members," Kaiser Chairman and CEO Greg Adams said in the report. "I am thankful to our dedicated employees and physicians for their continued efforts, which allowed us to improve first-quarter performance compared to a year ago. Together, we are leading a national effort to make quality care more equitable and affordable for all."