Highmark Health's Allegheny Health Network (AHN) posted a $136 million operating loss in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, executives said Monday.
That represents a drop of $180 million from 2019, according to the insurers' financial report, largely driven by volume declines due to COVID-19 and associated expenses. AHN saw inpatient discharges and observations decrease by 9% under the pandemic along with a 7% decrease in physician visits.
In addition, outpatient registrations decreased by 2%, Highmark said. Allegheny Health Network's patient volumes are rebounding, however, and have nearly returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Despite the health system feeling the financial impacts of the pandemic, Highmark Health brought in $18 billion in revenue last year and $450 million in revenue less expenses. Operating gain in 2020 was $490 million, Highmark said.
Highmark CEO David Holmberg said on a call with reporters Monday that strong performance on the health plan side assisted the company in weathering the financial impacts of the pandemic on AHN.
"It's important to start from a position of strength," Holmberg said.
AHN also pivoted to telehealth, like many of its peers in the industry, with virtual visits up 5,000% from 2019.
Highmark Health Plan reported an operating gain of $400 million in 2020, according to the report, driven in large part by the commercial and government businesses as well as investment in clinical transformation.
Membership held steady at 5.6 million, the company said, and commercial retention rates were 93% last year.
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Holmberg said the company is continuing its "war-like battle against this invisible enemy" through its efforts to expand vaccine access. AHN has held several large-scale vaccination events to grow access in western Pennsylvania, he said.
These events, he said, led to 55,000 high-risk people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday.
"These are believed to among the largest single-day vaccination events since the 1950s," Holmberg said.