Bartlett is losing $250,000 a day in revenue after ban on non-urgent surgeries

A triage tent is set up to screen patients for symptoms of COVID-19 outside on Monday, April 7, 2020, at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

Juneau’s city-owned hospital has lost about $250,000 a day in revenue since mid-March, when the state ordered the postponement or cancelation of all non-urgent surgeries and procedures to prioritize the response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Bartlett Regional Hospital has also spent about $600,000 on equipment, supplies and labor preparing for the pandemic. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Benson said it’s not clear if and when the hospital will be reimbursed for that money, but it’s exploring options to recoup funding through FEMA, the newly-passed federal CARES Act or an insurance claim for business interruption. 

“I think the bigger concern for us, from a financial impact, is the loss of revenue,” Benson told the hospital’s finance committee on Friday. 

By the end of March, the hospital was short about $2.3 million in revenue, Benson said, and it’s lost about the same amount in the first 9 days of April. The total revenue shortfall for April is expected to be $4 million, he added.

The statewide ban on non-urgent and elective procedures extends through June 15.

Correction: This story has been updated to show that the hospital lost about $2.1 million in revenue in the first nine days of April. 

Rashah McChesney

Daily News Editor

I help the newsroom establish daily news priorities and do hands-on editing to ensure a steady stream of breaking and enterprise news for a local and regional audience.

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