Mass General Brigham reports $82M operating gain even as expenses continue to bite

Boston-based Mass General Brigham, a 15-hospital system, has reported an $81.6 million operating gain on revenue of $5 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2024, ending Dec. 31. 

That figure, which included a non-recurring gain of $114 million related to prior year healthcare provider activity, compared with a net operating loss of 1.4 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023 when revenues totaled $4.5 billion. 

Expenses continued to loom large, up 11% on the same fiscal 2023 quarter, to total $4.9 billion. 

“Ongoing clinical integration efforts coupled with investments in our people are driving our financial recovery, but we still have much more work to do,” said Anne Klibanski, M.D., president and CEO of Mass General Brigham. 

The $5 billion revenue figure included $481 million in healthcare plan premium revenue as the system incorporated 150,000 additional members under a new accountable care organization. It also included over $700 million in research revenue. 

Net income totaled $579 million for the quarter compared with $480 million in the corresponding period in fiscal 2023.

With an increasing focus on sectors such as its healthcare plan, as well as initiatives involving AI, future revenue could help offset ongoing expense pressures. 

“These results also reflect elevated labor and supplies costs, highlighting the importance of our efforts to reduce our long-term expense growth trend while generating sustainable revenue sources through initiatives like the growth of Mass General Brigham Health Plan and developing new collaborations to fuel AI development at MGB and beyond that will help position us for long-term financial sustainability,” said CFO Niyum Gandhi.