University Health OKS $2.1B budget for 2021
University Health officials say the ongoing coronavirus crisis has turned the budget-making process into a complicated guessing game.
The costs associated with COVID-19 are interlaced with every aspect of University Health’s programs but much is unknown about the pandemic, President and CEO George Hernandez said.
“We have to provide great care during a time when it’s very hard to predict the future.”
The Bexar County Hospital District, which does business as University Health, is the main provider of health care for indigent people and thousands of low-income families in the region. That requires calculating the level of uncompensated patient care and making up for it in other parts of the business.
The proposed 2021 budget sets aside $3.2 million for the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, once one is available, and $2.3 million for personal protective equipment, such as masks and gowns. It also calls for $2.7 million to fund 14 employees to run pre-procedure testing and another 54 to screen people at the hospital door for symptoms.
As of Nov. 1, University Health has treated 1,266 COVID-19 positive patients since March.
The seven-member hospital board unanimously endorsed the 2021 preliminary budget, which includes a consolidated operating budget of $2.1 billion, $73.3 million in debt service for bonds and a $44.2 million for capital projects.
The recommended budget will go to Bexar County Commissioners Court for a vote on Dec. 1.
“One of the big assumptions in the budget is that we can get back to the 2019 volumes” in surgical operations and other areas that were affected by pandemic restrictions, Chief Financial Officer Reed Hurley told the board of managers.
In April, the volume of surgeries dropped by 50 percent and most other areas and services were down by 30 percent.
The federal government sent a total $24.8 million through the CARES Act to compensate for some revenue declines, but the health system’s 2021 budget is not counting on additional relief dollars.
Under the proposed budget, employees will be eligible for a 2 percent performance-based merit salary increase, while another $4.6 million will be invested in competitive pay adjustments based on the local market.
Reed pointed out that despite decreases in some of its operations because of COVID-19, “we
didn’t lay people off. When it was slow, we encouraged employees to utilize” paid time off.
Written into the budget is $3.6 million in renovations to aging buildings, a $5 million update to its fire alarm system, $2.3 million for a newdavincirobot used for minimally invasive surgery and $5.7 million to replace outdated radiology equipment.
The hospital district’s property tax rate is scheduled to hold steady at 27.62 cents per $100 assessed valuation. It hasn’t increased in more than a decade.
But rising property values and new development are projected to yield an an additional $11.6 million in tax revenue. Property taxes account for 19 percent of the system’s total operating revenue.
The public hospital system includes University Hospital in the South Texas Medical Center, the Robert B. Green Campus downtown, more than 23 outpatient clinics, a managed health plan and a physician group.
Last month, board members signed off on a $614.8 million budget for Community First Health Plans for 2021. It is the nonprofit subsidiary that provides insurance coverage for its nearly 9,000 employees and dependents.
Board members are appointed for two-year terms by the Commissioners Court, but there’s no term limit. Longtime members include Chairman Jim Adams, immediate past-chair Dr. Roberto Jimenez and vice chair Ira Smith.
Four new members were appointed this year — attorney T. J. Mayes, political consultant Anita Fernández, Dr. Margaret Kelley and insurance consultant Buddy Morris.