Kaiser Permanente reported a net loss of $1.5 billion for the third quarter, as market conditions still weighed heavily on financial performance. That’s a huge drop from Kaiser’s $1.6 billion net income a year ago.
Operating revenue increased 4.7% to $24.3 billion, but expenses increased 5.2%. Kaiser, a California-based nonprofit integrated health system, reported an operating loss of $75 million in the third quarter, compared with $38 million in operating income in the third quarter of last year. Kaiser’s operating margin is -0.3%.
The third quarter results followed a rough start to the year. Kaiser reported a combined net loss of more than $2 billion for the first half of 2022. Chief Executive Officer Greg Adams attributed this year’s losses to higher costs, supply chain issues, labor shortages and continued impact from COVID-19.
Kaiser reported less capital spending in the third quarter – $820 million versus $878 million the year before.
In addition to financial troubles, Kaiser has also clashed with union workers this year. Thousands of mental health workers went on strike in August during months of patient waiting periods – a strike that lasted until mid-October before the two sides reached an agreement. A year ago, Kaiser narrowly avoided another strike, when workers later raised concerns about pay and staffing.
