Lifepoint Earnings Tumble

Credit Wikimedia Commons

Lifepoint Hospitals took a big hit to the bottom line in the third quarter, with earnings dropping more than fifty percent.

Officials with the Brentwood-based company point to a number of reasons. They more people are putting off surgeries and less reimbursement is coming in from government programs like Medicare. Hurricane Isaac is blamed for a million and a half dollars worth of lost revenue. The hospital chain is employing more doctors who need to be paid. And while the purchase of Marquette General Health System added to the amount of money being brought into the company, it came at a 6 million dollar price tag.

In all, the company says income dropped from nearly 40 million dollars in the third quarter of last year to just under 20 million this time.