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Dive Insight:
Ascension logged a $466 million operating loss for the nine months ended March 31, compared with last year’s $238 million loss. For the nine-month period, it logged a net income of $195 million, compared with last year’s $343 million.
At a system level, Ascension showed double-digit declines year over year in patient volumes during the nine-month period. However, the system said the “most meaningful” volume comparisons were on a same-facility basis due to its portfolio restructuring. Major volume trends were down slightly year over year on a same-facility basis.
Additionally, management said most per day volumes were growing for the nine-month period, compared to the three-month period in its 2024 fourth quarter, when Ascension logged impacts from the cyberattack.
Ascension worked to cut operating expenses during the nine-month period to just under $20 billion, compared with last year’s $22.5 billion. Ascension saw improvements on total salaries, wages and benefits spend after reducing its dependence on agency staffing and increasing retention, including among nurses. Total salary spend fell 12.6% year to year, according to the release.
Despite its losses, management said the health system’s performance marked a “significant improvement” when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, when Ascension logged the impact from its cyberattack .
The cyberattack caused ripple effects for months. It forced Ascension to delay or reschedule some procedures and depressed same-facility volumes between 8% to 12% year over year on average during May and June .
The system is attempting to paint its most recent results as progress, emphasizing quarterly improvements in recurring operating income — a metric that does not include net impairment losses.
That figure has improved each quarter from a $1.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter, to a $197 million loss during the first quarter, and then a $116 million loss in the second quarter, before landing at a $68 million loss during this reporting period.
“We have seen measurable growth in same-facility revenue, patient throughput, and nurse retention—all reinforcing our operational foundation,” Saurabh Tripathi , executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement about the results. “These results allow us to reinvest in critical areas, including clinical infrastructure, digital innovation, and expanded access in the communities we serve.”
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