Kaiser Permanente reported a $1.5 billion net loss in the third quarter, as market conditions still weigh heavily upon financial performance. A year ago, the health system generated $1.6 billion in net income.
Operating revenue increased 4.7% to $24.3 billion, but expenses rose 5.2%. Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit integrated health system based in Oakland, California, posted a $75 million operating loss in the third quarter, compared with $38 million in operating income in last year’s third quarter. Kaiser’s operating margin was -0.3%.
The third-quarter results follow a rough start to the year. Kaiser reported a combined net loss of well over $2 billion in the first half of 2022. CEO Greg Adams attributes this year’s losses to higher costs, supply chain issues, labor shortages and ongoing impact from COVID-19.
Kaiser reported less capital spending in the third quarter: $820 million compared with $878 million the prior year. Tom Meier, corporate treasurer, said the system is not pulling back from its overall capital spending plan.
Apart from financial woes, Kaiser has also clashed with union workers this year. Thousands of mental health workers went on strike over months-long patient wait times from August until mid-October, when the two sides reached an agreement. A year ago, Kaiser narrowly avoided another strike as workers raised concerns about pay and staffing.
