Samaritan Healthcare approves 2019 budget

MOSES LAKE — Additional doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners are expected to lead to increased revenue for Samaritan Healthcare in 2019. Hospital district commissioners approved the proposed 2019 budget at the monthly meeting Tuesday.

Total expenses for 2019 are projected at $100,146,290; total revenue for 2019 was $101,151,137. With other income from investments the hospital is projected to finish 2019 with $4,652,442 in net income.

Chief financial officer Alex Town said the increased revenue projection is a reflection of additional medical professionals at both Samaritan Clinic and Samaritan Hospital. New physicians have been hired and are scheduled to start work at various times during the year. More are being recruited.

More medical professionals not only will be treating more patients, Town said, they’re also using more hospital services, like the radiology and lab departments. The biggest impact is projected to be at Samaritan Clinic, where gross patient revenue is projected to increase by about $8.9 million.

But the difference between what the hospital bills for some public insurance programs and what it actually gets paid (called contractual adjustments) is projected to increase also, and so is bad debt and charity care. Medicare patients are projected to make up about 32 percent of the hospital’s patients, and Medicaid about 32 percent. Private insurance patients are projected to make up about 33 percent of the patients at the hospital. People who are paying their own bill (self-pay) were budgeted to make up about three percent of hospital patients. Private insurance patients are budgeted to make up about 48 percent of the patients at Samaritan Clinic, Medicaid about 29 percent and Medicare about 21 percent.

The 2019 capital budget is $27,276,578. Projects scheduled for 2019 include the hospital’s master facility plan, scheduled to cost about $15 million. Hospital district officials announced last month they would be exploring the possibility of building an entirely new hospital.

The capital budget also includes $3,715,289 for an upgraded electronic medical records system, and $1,104,330 for a new MRI machine, which will be located in a newly constructed space at the hospital.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.