Earnings, revenue soar at IU Health in first 6 months, as patients return for procedures

Indiana University Health saw its earnings more than double in the first half of the year, to $414 million, compared to a year ago, as patients flocked back to hospitals and clinics, many for procedures they had postponed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state’s largest health system, with 16 hospitals, disclosed in a debt filing on Thursday that the number of surgeries soared 35% and the number of inpatient discharges climbed 10.7%.

The higher patient load helped boost operating revenue to $3.8 billion for the first half of the year, up 15.6%.

Expenses, such as salaries, equipment and drugs, climbed 10.8% to $3.4 billion. Earnings for the not-for-profit system climbed 104% compared to a year earlier.

But as the patient load has increased, IU Health, like most other hospital systems, has faced challenges keeping its hospitals fully staffed, as older workers retired, and other workers take extended time off or leave their positions.

IU Health said it is increasing minimum base pay for entry-level workers, such as janitors, housekeepers and kitchen staff, to $16 an hour this month, and stepping up to $18 an hour with two years of service.

It is also increasing pay for nursing, therapists and other front-line workers, but did not provide an amount. IU Health said the total raises amount to more than $100 million. The health system employs about 36,000 workers.

With new variants of COVID-19 spreading, IU Health said it continues to operate a virtual COVID-19 screening clinic, one of the state’s largest testing labs for coronavirus, and vaccination clinics, including at the Indiana State Fair this month.

It warned that the pandemic could exact further costs on the system.

“Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the pandemic could still negatively affect the operating margins and financial results of Indiana University Health due to changes in the care model, patient behavior, variants of the virus, and market pressures influencing other operating costs.”