Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is bucking the trend in the healthcare sector earnings season, reporting a rise in revenue driven by higher inpatient volumes, according to its earnings report released today.
The biggest U.S. hospital operator saw revenue jump to $8.11 billion in the second quarter of 2012, up 11.9 percent from $7.25 billion in last year's second quarter.
Unlike most hospital systems, HCA saw same-facility equivalent admissions rise 3.9 percent, although revenue per equivalent admission dropped 0.1 percent. Emergency room visits on a same-facility basis also jumped 8.8 percent year over year.
Shares of HCA climbed along with inpatient admissions during the second quarter, thanks in part to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold health reform legislation, MarketWatch reported.
Meanwhile, the rest of industry suffered from "soft" inpatient volumes. For example, LifePoint Hospitals saw inpatient admissions drop 6.4 percent from last year's second quarter. The Tennessee-based hospital operator offset the falling inpatient admissions with a growth in outpatient volumes, FierceHealthcare previously reported.
For more:
- check out the HCA earnings report
- here's the MarketWatch article