"Losses came from interest rate swaps.... complex financial instruments.... the result is a paper loss that must be recognized. Partners lost $119 million on its swaps in the first quarter, compared to a $103 million loss on investments during the quarter"
NO WONDER OUR HEALTH CARE EXPENSES are SO HIGH!!!!
Related:
Why the Nation Doesn't Need Massachusetts Health Care
Massachusetts Health Care Takes a Seat on the S***ter
"Partners loses $185m in quarter; Hospital system forced to slow expansion plans" by Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | February 20, 2009
Partners HealthCare Inc., the hospital giant that provides about one-quarter of the medical care in Eastern Massachusetts, said it lost $185 million in its first quarter as a result of big losses in its investments and other financial instruments.
The losses will slow Partners' ambitious five-year program to build and expand facilities and invest in computers and other healthcare information technology.
So they will be getting some of that stimulus boodle, huh?
"While we do not rely on investment income to support our operations, the loss of nonoperating revenue has had a significant effect on our ability to finance our capital spending," said Peter K. Markell, vice president of finance.
Why are HOSPITALS INVESTING at all?
Three months ago, Partners said it was shrinking an ambitious five-year building program from $4.5 billion to about $3.2 billion. Going forward, Partners will reevaluate capital spending each quarter, Markell said.
"We're trying to take a long-term view, but we're also trying to preserve capital," said Markell. The most visible construction project is the Building for the Third Century at Massachusetts General Hospital, a 10-story expansion expected to cost $686 million.
In the three months ended Dec. 31, Partners lost $244 million on investments and other financing activities, partially offset by a $59 million profit from its medical activities.
What, they couldn't cover the rest by colluding price-gouging like they been doing?
The investment losses were driven by Wall Street's massive swoon. Partners' roughly $4.5 billion investment portfolio lost about 10 percent of its value in the three-month period, Markell said. About 30 percent of Partners' investments are in stocks or stock funds.
Another big chunk of losses came from interest rate swaps. Such complex financial instruments are used by many hospitals to hedge against changes in interest rates. An interest rate swap enables a borrower to essentially pay a premium to exchange variable-rate debt for fixed-rate debt.
But the value of those swaps varies with larger trends in the lending markets. Right now, those swaps are worth less than when Partners executed them. The result is a paper loss that must be recognized. Partners lost $119 million on its swaps in the first quarter, compared to a $103 million loss on investments during the quarter.
In the same period last year, Partners earned investment income of nearly $64 million. Results from running its hospitals were generally positive. Discharges grew slightly, by 0.6 percent, and revenue from treating patients increased 11 percent, to $1.4 billion, reflecting more complex cases. Academic and research revenue also increased 11 percent to $299 million.
But WALL STREET BANKS wiped it all out!!!!
Partners was formed in 1994 by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. It now includes Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, hospitals on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, the largest physicians group in Massachusetts, and a variety of rehabilitation services and facilities.
Notice how the Globe FAILS to mention the PRICE-FIXING and GOUGING?
Just an oversight, right, even though they did those exhaustive spotlight series?
Going forward, Markell said, "If it continues to get worse in terms of investment performance, we would have to squeeze capital spending further, and then maybe look at the operating side. But just knowing the kind of year we were heading into, we were more focused on expense management to begin with."
--more--"
Of course, then this asshole government also turned OUR PROPERTY over to BANKS so they could LEASE the STUFF BACK TO US with INTEREST!!
"In the 1990s, the T and other transit agencies were encouraged by federal officials to sell their train equipment to banks and then lease it back. The arrangement brought the T $53 million in upfront payments. In return, the private banks realized a tax benefit"
"The authority was attempting to renegotiate terms of a complex financial deal with the banking giant UBS. Known as a swaption, the arrangement could force the authority to pay out a $450 million lump sum"
NOT a GOOD IDEA at all!!! Thanks, Bill Clinton!
"During the go-go investing years, school districts, transit agencies, and other government entities were quick to jump into the global economy, hoping for fast gains to cover growing pension costs and budgets without raising taxes. Deals were arranged by armies of persuasive financiers who received big paydays. But now, hundreds of cities and government agencies are facing economic turmoil"And yet, health care still sucks in this state.
"MGH faulted for delaying contagion alert" by Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | February 20, 2009
Massachusetts General Hospital waited four days before alerting Boston health authorities that a wave of gastrointestinal illness was sweeping through patients and staff on one floor. The delay earlier this week is an apparent violation of rules requiring prompt reporting of suspected infectious disease clusters.
The Boston Public Health Commission learned Wednesday that nine patients and 18 staff had been stricken with vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. Hospital officials had been aware of the problem since Saturday, when they stopped assigning new patients to the stricken ward, which has about three dozen beds.
City regulations require hospitals and doctors to expeditiously report suspected disease outbreaks "immediately, but in no case more than 24 hours after diagnosis or identification." Prompt reporting, disease specialists said, is designed to prevent small clusters from mushrooming into major outbreaks at multiple sites.
Seems reasonable, right?
Dr. David Hooper, chief of the infection control unit at Mass. General, said the hospital moved swiftly to contain the illnesses internally, adding that the "so-called delay" was the result of the hospital collecting information it believed the Boston health agency needed for a comprehensive investigation. No patients or hospital workers suffered life-threatening complications over the two-day duration of their illnesses, he said.
They just got real sick and felt like they were going to die without knowing why.
Dr. Anita Barry, the city's director of communicable disease control, said yesterday that Mass. General "dropped the ball" in failing to report the illnesses sooner. Her agency will have discussions with the hospital about preventing such episodes in the future, she said....
You know, now I'm starting to take the hospital's side. Why ANOTHER LAYER of CENTRALIZED BUREAUCRACY? The hospital took care of the problem, so what's the hassle?
This is not the first time Boston health authorities have complained of tardy disease reporting by a major healthcare institution. In one case, Boston University Medical Center administrators waited more than a week to report that three laboratory workers had fallen ill while working with the potentially lethal germ that causes tularemia....
Hooper said hospital authorities first became concerned that a virus might be stalking a ward on Saturday, with four patients and perhaps as many as eight staff members already beset with similar symptoms. Measures were adopted swiftly, he said, to prevent the infection from escaping that ward: Further admissions were halted; nurses and other healthcare workers donned gowns and gloves; and tables, trays, and other surfaces were scoured with a bleachlike cleanser.
No further patients or workers fell ill yesterday, and, if no more episodes of vomiting and diarrhea are reported, the ward could reopen early next week, Hooper said.
A leader of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, a professional organization, said the insistence on speedy reporting reflects 21st century realities, including concerns about outbreaks of foodborne illnesses as well as drug-resistant infections caught while in the hospital. As a result, elite hospitals once confident in their ability to handle events internally have been forced to embrace openness, said Dr. William Schaffner, of the infectious disease group.
And ANSWER to a HIGHER (STATE) AUTHORITY!
Maybe the state should stay OUT of MEDICINE, hmmm?
"They historically have said, 'This is well within our capacity, we don't have to call the next town's fire department to put out this brush fire,' " Schaffner said. "Now, we need more transparency from these institutions."
And ANOTHER LAYER of BURAEUCRACY to PAY FOR!!!
