Covid relief funds kept some Massachusetts hospitals out of the red in 2020

DATE: April 15, 2022

Three of the state's largest hospitals had expenses that outweighed revenue for the year that ended in September 2020, but were able to stay in the black with the help of Covid relief funds, according to a report released by the Center for Health Information and Analysis on Thursday.

Boston’s Brigham and Women's Hospital would have ended its fiscal 2020 in the red if not for $96.6 million in Covid relief funds, according to a report from CHIA.

Brigham and Women's Hospital, the second-largest hospital in Massachusetts, had $3.14 billion in expenses compared to $3.12 billion in revenue in fiscal 2020, the most recent year available. But with $96.6 million in Covid relief funds, the hospital still ended the year with a net gain, according to CHIA.

UMass Memorial Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the third- and fourth-largest hospitals in the state, also saw their expenses exceed costs, but remained in the black thanks to Covid aid.

“Hospital profiles provide a valuable snapshot of performance metrics for hospitals and health systems in the Commonwealth,” Ray Campbell, CHIA’s executive director said in a statement. “This report showcases the breadth of hospital data that CHIA collects and allows stakeholders a comprehensive look at how the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic affected health care entities across the state.”

The state's largest hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, was a notable exception, ending the year with a net gain before counting the Covid-19 relief funds from the state and federal government, a CHIA's report found. 

But Boston Children’s Hospital, the fifth-largest in the commonwealth and a specialty hospital, had expenses that outweighed costs by $115 million, despite the Covid relief. In the past five years, expenses have exceeded costs, but never by that much. If Children’s did not get relief funds, it would have had expenses exceed revenue by $212 million.

By Cassie McGrath  –  Reporter, Boston Business Journal