With a 52% profit margin last year, the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin may be one of the most profitable businesses in the Milwaukee area, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The seven-bed hospital, which had an average 49% profit margin in the three previous years, considerably beat the 13% profit margin national average for specialty hospitals. And two other specialty heart hospitals in Milwaukee haven’t fared nearly as well; one folded and the other has yet to turn a profit. Orthopaedic Hospital, which is owned jointly by surgeons and the not-for-profit hospital system Columbia St. Mary’s, claims its high profits result from running the hospital at capacity, superior efficiency, and low overhead. But the Sentinel article also highlights that the hospital’s Medicaid patients accounted for only 4% of its volume, and that it spent less than $50,000 (.4% of net income) on charity care last year. Although the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has proposed that reimbursement for orthopedic procedures be cut by 8.2%, the hospital’s administrator told the Sentinel that the facility will continue with its expansion plans to become a full-service orthopedic hospital.
