Tenet Healthcare

Tenet posts revenue increase for Q3, still faces challenges

Abby Christopher — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:20:44 -0500

Tenet Healthcare has reported a slight improvement in revenue of up to $2.2 billion for Q3 compared to $2.1 billion for the same period last year, falling short of analysts forecasts. The hospital owner is struggling to reach profitability, in part because of increases in bad debt and patients' inability to pay their bills, the company reports. Bad debt rose for the quarter to 5.8 percent to $163 million, up from $142 million last year.

The Texas-based company says that it expects to break even with earnings of $75 million for 2008; EBITDA is now forecast between $700 million and $750 million, down from previous estimates of between $750 million and $825 million.

In spite of some modest increases in revenue, Tenet will continue to struggle, analysts say. In a research note, Goldman Sachs warns that, "Tenet's markets have the highest absolute unemployment level of any of the public hospital companies (7.3 percent in key markets as of August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and higher foreclosures than average, which may explain Tenet's worsening outlook compared to peers."

To learn more about Tenant's Q3 earnings:
- read this Los Angeles Business Journal story
- check out this AP story

Tenet Healthcare offers patients ability to pay bills online

Wed, 28 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

For-profit hospital chain Tenet Healthcare has begun offering patients at its hospitals the ability to pay their bills online. To access the online payment system, patients treated at any of its 53 facilities will need to complete an enrollment process from their hospital's website. Once enrolled, they'll be able to make payments, update their profiles, set up recurring payment plans, access a glossary of billing terms and view answers to frequently asked billing questions. The application supporting the billing functions is NCR Corp.'s Online Bill Pay, which Tenet pilot-tested earlier this year.

To learn more about this application
- read this Healthcare Finance News article

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Tenet sees $31 million loss for Q1

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Dogged by expenses from lawsuits, Tenet Healthcare announced a $31 million first-quarter loss. Tenet reported a net loss of $31 million for the first quarter of this year, compared with a profit of $75 million for the same quarter last year when it enjoyed a $92 million tax gain. This quarter, Tenet faced litigation costs of $47 million pre-tax, which it set aside for wage and hour lawsuits and other employment matters. On the brighter side, its facilities saw a 1 percent increase in total admissions for this quarter compared to the first quarter of last year. Tenet also saw a drop in charity admissions due to an increased number of patients qualifying for Medicaid.

The unprofitable earnings report doesn't seem to have shocked Wall Street, which actually rewarded the company with a slight gain in its stock price the day the results were released. However, it is something of a counterweight to a recent favorable report from high-profile healthcare analyst Ken Weakly of Credit Suisse Securities, who ranked the stock as "outperform" and predicted a major improvement in its fortunes.

To learn more about Tenet's results:
- read this press release

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