UMC requested $25.5 million in loans to aid its negative cash flow in fiscal year 2014. That money was repaid by May 2015, a UMC spokesperson stated. Mr. VanHouweling said the hospital has “turn[ed] a financial corner” in recent years.
UMC’s latest subsidy from ClarkCounty shows this to be true. In fiscal year 2015, the hospital’s subsidy rose from $41 million to $71 million to address the growing population of Medicaid patients under the Affordable Care Act. Now the hospital requires less assistance. UMC is expected to receive a $31 million subsidy for 2017, the same subsidy it received for the 2016 fiscal year.
UMC’s financial progress has resulted from eliminating approximately 400 positions in 2014 as well as shutting down some clinics and services, according to the report.
The subsidy UMC received from the county in past years was largely devoted to covering operating expenses. Now that the hospital is in better financial shape, operating expenses account for about $10 million of the $31 million subsidy, according to the report. The remainder of the subsidy will be used to cover UMC’s short-term capital budget requirements, which add up to roughly $60 million.
The hospital also plans to modernize its infrastructure, including moving to a new EHR system and upgrading technology and operating rooms.
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