Dive Brief:
- Tenet Healthcare posted a full-year net income of $410 million in 2022, down about 55% from 2021, according to its earnings report out Thursday. Fourth quarter net income was $102 million, down about 60% from the same period the year prior.
- Full-year revenue was $19.17 billion, down about 1.6% from 2021, while Q4 revenue was up about 2% from the prior quarter and beat Wall Street expectations.
- Labor expenses were up during the quarter though down slightly for the year, and the system's workforce challenges appear to be easing as it hired more nurses in 2022 than 2021 with retention also improving, CEO Saum Sutaria said on a call with investors Thursday.
Dive Insight:
Staffing shortages and workforce challenges coupled with lower volumes and heightened expenses were key challenges for hospital operators last year. This year, they also face upcoming Medicaid redeterminations as a pandemic-era policy barring states from kicking people off the rolls expires this spring, which will likely curb hospital revenues.
Volumes, though, rose for Tenet in the fourth quarter, with same-hospital adjusted admissions up 2.9% compared to the same period in 2021. Same-facility ambulatory surgical cases rose 0.7% in Q4 compared to the same period in the prior year.
The hospital operator has focused on its ambulatory surgical center business throughout the pandemic, in line with an ongoing shift toward non-hospital care favored by payers and increasingly by patients.
Ambulatory net operating revenues rose 25.7% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period the year prior, which the operator attributed to its SurgCenter Development acquisition completed in December 2021, service line growth and improved pricing yield, according to the earnings report.
"Overall, Tenet Healthcare demonstrated strong growth from their ambulatory surgery business yet significant challenges remain for their hospital segment,” Anna Barsanti, a Third Bridge analyst, wrote in a note.
Tenet’s labor expenses were up about 5% during the quarter at $2.3 billion, compared to $2.2 billion during the same quarter in 2021. For the full year, labor expenses were down about 0.4% compared to 2021.
Contract labor expenses peaked in September but fell by December and the chain ended the year with contract labor below 6.5% of consolidated salaries wages and benefits expenses, Sutaria said on a call with investors.
Tenet increased pay and used bonus programs and incremental benefits to stave off workforce challenges last year, he said.
The operator also recently announced it was shaking up its leadership team, including making changes within its USPI and Conifer subsidiaries.
Daniel Cancelmi, who serves as executive vice president and CFO, will retire from his role at the end of the year, and the chain is launching a search to find his replacement, according to a statement.
For the full year, Tenet expects revenues of $19.7 billion to $20.1 billion.