Dive Brief:
- Kaiser Permanente's net income more than tripled during the second quarter of 2019 compared to a year earlier, hitting $2 billion, up from $653 million.
- Revenue at the Oakland, California-based system rose 9% to $21.4 billion. The boost in revenue was in part due to an increase in membership and lower risk adjustments among its Affordable Care Act membership.
- Kaiser's insurance membership grew modestly from 12.2 million as of last year's second quarter to 12.3 million.
Dive Insight:
The integrated health system cited open enrollment for the results. Historically, its operating margins are the highest during the first and second quarters and it's common to see margins decline in the second half of the year as expenses increase, the system cautioned in a statement.
The results come on the heels of a vote by Kaiser unions representing tens of thousands of workers in California, to OK a strike beginning next month. Of 37,000 cast votes, 98% voted to strike. Several other states will take similar votes over the next month.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions claim it will be the country's biggest strike in recent memory and used the financial results to call attention to their cause, accusing the system of underfunding charity care and subpar worker pay.
Kaiser's first quarter also saw its net income soar.
During the second quarter the system used $710 million for capital spending including various investments in technology and new facilities. Kaiser opened a handful of new facilities during the quarter, for a total of 701 medical offices nationwide, plus 39 hospitals.
Correction: A previous version of this story had Kaiser's revenue in millions, not billions.