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Erlanger Health grapples with $35 million reduction in net patient revenue in April due to COVID-19

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tents were set up outside of the adult emergency room at Erlanger on Monday, March 30, 2020 in Chattanooga, Tenn., as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tents were set up outside of the adult emergency room at Erlanger on Monday, March 30, 2020 in Chattanooga, Tenn., as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tents were set up outside of the adult emergency room at Erlanger on Monday, March 30, 2020 in Chattanooga, Tenn., as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Elizabeth Fite 4 min read

Erlanger Health System officials estimate that the public hospital saw a $35 million reduction in net patient revenue for the month of April due to temporarily suspending elective procedures, decreases in admissions and other coronavirus-related expenses.

The loss is offset somewhat by stimulus funds and cost-reduction measures, including furloughing staff early in the outbreak. However, hospital payments from the CARES Act – the federal coronavirus relief fund – thus far have favored other hospitals over ones such as Erlanger, which treat higher volumes of Medicaid and uninsured patients.

“We have received multiple deposits of stimulus funds. They are not remotely close to the point of overcoming the financial losses our organization has experienced due to COVID-19,” Dr. Will Jackson, president and CEO of Erlanger Health System, said during an Erlanger Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.

Jackson said that Britt Tabor, Erlanger’s chief financial officer, has “relentlessly pursued” all available funds to help the health system weather the crisis.

So far, the federal government has distributed three rounds of hospital payments for a total of $72 billion to hospitals across the United States. Erlanger has received just over $28 million across its seven hospitals and community health centers.