These gross sales helped Genesis make a $19 million surplus on $52 million in income — a margin of 37 p.c — in 2021, in accordance with its audited monetary assertion. It was the fourth consecutive yr the middle’s surpluses had topped 35 p.c, the data confirmed. The trade common is 5 p.c, in accordance with a federally funded report on well being facilities’ monetary efficiency.
Genesis attributes its massive margins to wonderful administration and says it wants the cash to broaden and modernize companies whereas being much less reliant on authorities funding. The middle advantages financially from using a authorities drug low cost program.
Nonetheless, Genesis’s hefty surplus stands out amongst nonprofit federally certified well being facilities, a linchpin within the nation’s security web for treating the poor.
In 2021, the federal government pumped more than $6 billion [nachc.org] in primary funding grants into 1,375 facilities across the nation, which give main look after over 30 million low-income individuals. That very same yr, the American Rescue Plan supplied a further $6 billion over two years for covid care.
These neighborhood well being facilities should take all sufferers no matter their potential to pay, and, in return, they obtain annual authorities grants and better reimbursement charges from Medicaid and Medicare than personal physicians.
A KHN evaluation discovered {that a} handful of the facilities recorded surpluses of 20 p.c or extra in no less than three of the previous 4 years. Well being coverage specialists say the surpluses alone shouldn’t increase considerations if the well being facilities are planning to make use of the cash for sufferers. However they add that the excessive margins recommend a necessity for higher federal scrutiny of the trade and whether or not its cash is being spent quick sufficient.
“Nobody is monitoring the place all their cash goes,” stated Ganisher Davlyatov, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma who has studied well being heart funds.
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration, which regulates the facilities, has restricted authority underneath federal regulation over how a lot the facilities spend on companies and the way they use their surpluses, stated James Macrae, an associate administrator.
The purpose of the federal funding is to assist the clinics meet the well being wants of lots of the nation’s poor.
“The expectation is they’ll take any revenue and plow it again into the operations of the middle,” he stated. “It’s undoubtedly one thing we are going to take a look at and what they’re doing with these assets,” he stated of KHN’s findings.
However Ge Bai, an accounting and health professor at Johns Hopkins University, questioned why some facilities ought to be making surpluses of 20 p.c or extra over consecutive years.
A middle with a excessive margin “raises questions on the place did the excess go” and its tax-exempt standing. “The facilities have to offer sufficient profit to deserve their public tax exemption, and what we’re seeing right here is a big quantity of [surpluses],” she stated.
Bai stated facilities should be capable to reply questions on “why aren’t they doing extra to assist the area people by increasing their scope of service.”
Officers on the well being facilities defended their sturdy surpluses, saying the cash permits them to broaden companies with out being depending on federal funds and helps them save for giant initiatives, similar to setting up new buildings. They identified that their operations are overseen by boards of administrators, no less than 51 p.c of whom should be sufferers, ostensibly so operations meet the neighborhood’s wants.
“Well being facilities are anticipated to have working reserves to be financially sustainable,” stated Ben Cash, a senior vp on the Nationwide Affiliation of Neighborhood Well being Facilities. Surpluses are needed “so long as well being facilities have plans to spend the cash to assist sufferers,” he stated.
Some heart officers famous bottom-line revenue margins may be skewed by massive contributions earmarked for constructing initiatives. Grants and donations seem as income within the yr they got, however a challenge’s prices are allotted on monetary statements over an extended interval, usually many years.
The annual federal base grant for facilities makes up about 20 p.c of their funding on common, in accordance with HRSA. The grants have greater than doubled over the previous decade. Federal grants to the facilities are supplied on a aggressive foundation every year primarily based on a fancy formulation that takes under consideration the necessity for companies in an space and whether or not clinics present care to particular populations, similar to people who find themselves homeless, agricultural employees, or residents of public housing.
The facilities additionally obtain Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that may be as a lot as twice what the federal applications pay personal medical doctors, stated Jeffrey Allen, a companion with the consulting agency Forvis.
As well as, some well being facilities like Genesis additionally profit from the 340B federal drug low cost program, which permits them to purchase medicines from producers at deeply discounted charges. The sufferers’ insurers sometimes pay the facilities a better fee, and the clinics preserve the distinction. Clinics can cut back the out-of-pocket prices for sufferers however are usually not required to.
For its evaluation, KHN began with analysis by Davlyatov that used facilities’ tax filings to the IRS to determine the 2 dozen facilities with the best revenue margins in 2019. KHN then examined these facilities’ audited monetary statements for the previous 4 years (2018 by way of 2021), and located 9 that had margins of 20 p.c or extra for no less than three years.
North Mississippi Main Well being Care was one in all them.
“We don’t take pointless dangers with company belongings,” stated Christina Nunnally, chief high quality officer on the heart. In 2021, the middle had practically $9 million in surplus on $36 million in income. Greater than $25 million of that income got here from the sale of medication.
Nunnally stated the middle is constructing a monetary cushion in case the 340B program ends. Drugmakers have been searching for adjustments to this system.
The middle has not too long ago opened a school-based well being program, a brand new dental clinic and clinics in neighboring counties.
“There might come a day when one of these margin will not be possible anymore,” she stated. If the middle hits onerous instances, it could not need to “have to start out chopping applications and other people.”
Outdoors Los Angeles, Buddies of Household Well being Heart CEO Bahram Bahremand stated his excessive margins are the results of California’s broad Medicaid protection to low-income residents and good administration.
The middle — whose revenue margins topped 25 p.c from 2018 to 2020 — opened a $1.9 million facility in Ontario final yr, and bought the constructing that homes its major clinic, in La Habra, for $12.3 million with plans to broaden it, he stated.
Bahremand added that the middle additionally retains administrative prices down by specializing in having extra suppliers in comparatively fewer areas.
“You shouldn’t be asking: ‘Why are we making a lot cash?’ Try to be asking: ‘How come different clinics don’t make a lot cash?’” Bahremand stated.
In South Carolina, Genesis started as an unbiased clinic and was generally barely capable of make payroll, stated Tony Megna, Genesis’s CEO and basic counsel. Changing to a federally certified well being heart a couple of decade in the past introduced federal funding and a extra strong footing. It recorded a greater than $65 million surplus from 2018 to 2021.
“Our perspective towards cash is completely different than most as a result of it’s so ingrained in us to be involved about whether or not we’re going to pay our payments,” stated Katie Noyes, Genesis’s chief particular initiatives officer.
The middle is spending $50 million to renovate and broaden its getting older services, stated Megna. In Darlington, a brand new $20 million constructing that may greater than double the power’s house is scheduled to open in 2023. And its sturdy backside line helps the middle pay all its employees no less than $15.45 an hour, greater than twice the minimal wage within the state, he stated.
Megna was paid practically $877,000 in wage and bonuses in 2021, in accordance with Genesis’s newest IRS tax submitting, an quantity practically 4 instances the trade common.
David Corry, chairman-elect of the Genesis board of administrators, stated in a memo to KHN that a part of that compensation was making up for a number of years when Megna was inadvertently underpaid. “We decided early on that offering Mr. Megna an ‘common’ compensation like these of different FQHCs CEOs was not what we needed. Mr. Megna’s intensive authorized expertise and training in addition to his institutional and regulatory data set him other than others.”
Megna stated his base wage is $503,000.
Genesis officers stated the monetary safety supplied by the middle’s surpluses has allowed them to offer additional affected person companies, together with foot look after individuals with diabetes. In 2020, Genesis used $2 million to create an unbiased basis to assist households with meals and utility payments, amongst different wants.
Most of Genesis’s income comes from the 340B program, in accordance with its audited monetary statements. Many prescriptions stuffed on the clinic pharmacy are for costly specialty medication, which deal with uncommon or advanced situations similar to most cancers.
Megna, 67, a former chapter lawyer, stated it’s important to maintain the middle financially safe to remain open for sufferers.
“We’re very cautious in how we spend our cash,” Megna stated.
KHN (Kaiser Well being Information) is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points. Along with Coverage Evaluation and Polling, KHN is among the three main working applications at KFF (Kaiser Household Basis). KFF is an endowed nonprofit group offering info on well being points to the nation.
