News Releases

September 16 , 2002
WGHS Board of Trustees approves $153 million budget for FY 2003

The West Georgia Health System Board of Trustees today approved a $153.2 million budget for Fiscal Year 2003. The FY 2003 budget projects that $54.6 million of the $153 million projected total revenue will be charged to revenue deductions (the difference between charges and actual payment received, primarily from Medicare and Medicaid), leaving a projected net revenue of more than $98.5 million. The new budget year begins on Oct. 1.
Fiscal Year 2003 expenses are projected to increase by 1 percent to $96 million over the $94.9 million projected actual budget for the current fiscal year.

The new budget incorporates performance evaluation increases, which average 3 percent system-wide. Employee wages and benefits make up almost 57 percent of total expenses.

“The good news for our patients is that there will be no price increase for our patients during Fiscal Year 2003,” says Jerry Fulks, President/CEO of West Georgia Health System. “We will stick with our current pricing structure, which is significantly below state and national averages.”

“In fact, West Georgia Health System falls 43 percent below the average charge for peer hospitals across the United States,” Fulks points out.
For example, if West Georgia Medical Center charges a patient $7,114 for a hospital stay for a specific diagnosis, the average charge for the same services rendered at hospitals of similar size and scope of services would be $12,497.

Fulks points out that West Georgia Health System also faces tremendous challenges presented by increased Medicare/Medicaid budget cuts. In fact, Medicare and Medicaid reimburse WGHS for less money than the costs the health system incurs for caring for those patients. For example, West Georgia Health System loses anywhere from $700 to $2,500 per patient for the top five diagnoses, alone. These losses include costs associated with drugs and other supplies, as well as labor costs.

Medicare patients make up 48 percent of the total revenue. In addition, Medicaid patients comprise 15 percent of the Health System’s total revenue. Combined, the two government-funded payor programs generate 63 percent of West Georgia Health System’s total revenue.

Even working within these financial constraints, West Georgia Health System has consistently been a low-cost health care provider for the residents of West Georgia and East Alabama over the years, points out Otis Abernathy, Chairman of the WGHS Board of Trustees. “We attribute this success not only to the efficient management of the Health System, but also to the gifts of grant monies and property from both Callaway Foundation, Inc. and the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation. The generosity of these two foundations has enabled West Georgia Health System to build modern facilities with top quality programs and services — virtually debt-free. Because we have minimal debt service, we do not have those additional costs to pass on to our patients.”