Universal Health Services 10-Q 2024-03-31

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(MARK ONE)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2024

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 1-10765

UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

UNIVERSAL CORPORATE CENTER

367 SOUTH GULPH ROAD

KING OF PRUSSIA**,** Pennsylvania 19406

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (610) 768-3300

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date. Common shares outstanding, as of April 30, 2024:

UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC.

INDEX

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. This Report modifies and supersedes documents filed prior to this Report. Information that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in the future will automatically update and supersede information contained in this Report.

In this Quarterly Report, “we,” “us,” “our” “UHS” and the “Company” refer to Universal Health Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries. UHS is a registered trademark of UHS of Delaware, Inc., the management company for, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc. Universal Health Services, Inc. is a holding company and operates through its subsidiaries including its management company, UHS of Delaware, Inc. All healthcare and management operations are conducted by subsidiaries of Universal Health Services, Inc. To the extent any reference to “UHS” or “UHS facilities” in this report including letters, narratives or other forms contained herein relates to our healthcare or management operations it is referring to Universal Health Services, Inc.’s subsidiaries including UHS of Delaware, Inc. Further, the terms “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” in such context similarly refer to the operations of Universal Health Services Inc.’s subsidiaries including UHS of Delaware, Inc. Any reference to employees or employment contained herein refers to employment with or employees of the subsidiaries of Universal Health Services, Inc. including UHS of Delaware, Inc.

PART I. FINANCI****AL INFORMATION

UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

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Overview

As of March 31, 2024, we owned and/or operated 360 inpatient facilities and 47 outpatient and other facilities, including the following, located in 39 states, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico:

Acute care facilities located in the U.S.:

27 inpatient acute care hospitals;

27 free-standing emergency departments, and;

9 outpatient centers & 1 surgical hospital.

Behavioral health care facilities (333 inpatient facilities and 10 outpatient facilities):

Located in the U.S.:

186 inpatient behavioral health care facilities, and;

8 outpatient behavioral health care facilities.

Located in the U.K.:

144 inpatient behavioral health care facilities, and;

2 outpatient behavioral health care facilities.

Located in Puerto Rico:

3 inpatient behavioral health care facilities.

Net revenues from our acute care hospitals, outpatient facilities and commercial health insurer accounted for 57% of our consolidated net revenues during each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2024 and 2023. Net revenues from our behavioral health care facilities and commercial health insurer accounted for 43% of our consolidated net revenues during each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

Our behavioral health care facilities located in the U.K. generated net revenues of approximately $208 million and $168 million during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Total assets at our U.K. behavioral health care facilities were approximately $1.336 billion as of March 31, 2024 and $1.327 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Services provided by our hospitals include general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services and/or behavioral health services. We provide capital resources as well as a variety of management services to our facilities, including central purchasing, information services, finance and control systems, facilities planning, physician recruitment services, administrative personnel management, marketing and public relations.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors

You should carefully review the information contained in this Quarterly Report and should particularly consider any risk factors that we set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, this Quarterly Report and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In this Quarterly Report, we state our beliefs of future events and of our future financial performance. This Quarterly Report contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect our current estimates, expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, the information concerning our possible future results of operations, business and growth strategies, financing plans, expectations that regulatory developments or other matters will or will not have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, our competitive position and the effects of competition, the projected growth of the industry in which we operate, and the benefits and synergies to be obtained from our completed and any future acquisitions, and statements of our goals and objectives, and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “appears,” “projects” and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements. In evaluating those statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including the risks related to healthcare industry trends and those set forth herein in Item 1A. Risk Factors and Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Forward Looking Statements and Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Forward Looking Statements and Risk Factors, as included herein. Those factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any of our forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or our good faith belief with respect to future events, and is subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Many factors, including those set forth herein in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other important factors disclosed in this Quarterly Report, and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Such factors include, among other things, the following:

in our acute care segment, we have experienced a significant increase in hospital based physician related expenses, especially in the areas of emergency room care and anesthesiology. Although we have implemented various initiatives to mitigate the increased expense, to the degree possible, increases in these physician related expenses could continue to have an unfavorable material impact on our results of operations for the foreseeable future;

the healthcare industry is labor intensive and salaries, wages and benefits are subject to inflationary pressures, as are supplies expense and other operating expenses. In addition, the nationwide shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel experienced by healthcare providers in the past has been a significant operating issue facing us and other healthcare providers. In the past, the staffing shortage has, at times, required us to hire expensive temporary personnel and/or enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel. At certain facilities, particularly within our behavioral health care segment, there have been occasions when we were unable to fill all vacant positions and, consequently, we were required to limit patient volumes. The staffing shortage has required us to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel or required us to hire expensive temporary personnel. We have also experienced general inflationary cost increases related to medical supplies as well as certain of our other operating expenses. Many of these factors, which had a material unfavorable impact on our results of operations in prior years, moderated to a certain degree more recently;

in 2021, the rate of inflation in the United States began to increase and has since risen to levels not experienced in over 40 years. We are experiencing inflationary pressures, primarily in personnel costs, and we anticipate continuing impacts on other cost areas within the next twelve months. The extent of any future impacts from inflation on our business and our results of operations will be dependent upon how long the elevated inflation levels persist and the extent to which the rate of inflation further increases, if at all, neither of which we are able to predict. If elevated levels of inflation were to persist or if the rate of inflation were to accelerate, our expenses could increase faster than anticipated and we may utilize our capital resources sooner t

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There have been no material changes in the quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk during the three months ended March 31, 2024. Reference is made to Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

As of March 31, 2024, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), we performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) or Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”). Based on this evaluation, the CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that material information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported by management on a timely basis in order to comply with our disclosure obligations under the 1934 Act and the SEC rules thereunder.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the first quarter of 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

See Note 6-Commitments and Contingencies to our condensed consolidated financial statements in Item 1 of Part I of this report for a description of our legal proceedings. Such information is hereby incorporated by reference.

The following is an update to the risk factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Other than the following update, there have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. You should carefully consider the risk factors contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We are subject to pending legal actions, purported stockholder class actions, governmental investigations, inquiries and regulatory actions.

We and our subsidiaries are subject to pending legal actions, governmental investigations, inquiries and regulatory actions and judgments (see Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements-Commitments and Contingencies as contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q). We may become subject to additional medical malpractice lawsuits, product liability lawsuits, class action lawsuits, investigations and other legal actions in the ordinary course of business.

Defending ourselves against the allegations in the lawsuits and governmental investigations, inquiries, or similar matters and any related publicity, could potentially entail significant costs and could require significant attention from our management and our reputation could suffer significantly. We are unable to predict the outcome of these matters or to reasonably estimate the amount or range of any such loss; however, these lawsuits and the related publicity and news articles that have been published concerning these matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows which in turn could cause a decline in our stock price. In an effort to resolve one or more of these matters, we may choose to negotiate a settlement. Amounts we pay to settle any of these matters may be material. All professional and general liability insurance we purchase is subject to policy limitations. We believe that, based on our past experience and actuarial estimates, our insurance coverage is adequate considering the claims arising from the operations of our hospitals. While we continuously monitor our coverage, our ultimate liability for professional and general liability claims could change materially from our current estimates. If such policy limitations should be partially or fully exhausted in the future, or payments of claims exceed our estimates or are not covered by our insurance, it could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

For example, as discussed elsewhere herein, a jury recently returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $60 million and punitive damages of $475 million against the Pavilion Behavioral Health System (the “Pavilion”), one of our indirect subsidiaries. The Pavilion is evaluating all legal options and intends to challenge this verdict in post-judgment trial court proceedings and on appeal. We are uncertain as to the ultimate financial exposure related to the Pavilion matter and we can make no assurances regarding its outcome, or the amount of damages that may be held recoverable after post-judgment proceedings and appeal.

Also, in July 2022, UHS along with three other companies that own Residential Treatment Facilities (“RTFs”) received a letter from U.S. Senator Patty Murray (then Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee) requesting information about policies and practices in providing treatment to children and youths in RTFs. We have cooperated with the inquiry and provided certain documents and information to the Committees. Recently, we received new and supplemental requests for information and documentation. In addition, we have recently been advised that the Senate Finance Committee intends to hold a public hearing on the topic and to issue a report of their findings in the coming months.

We are and may become subject to other loss contingencies, both known and unknown, which may relate to past, present and future facts, events, circumstances and occurrences. Should an unfavorable outcome occur in some or all of our legal proceedings or other loss contingencies, or if successful claims and other actions are brought against us in the future, there could be a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

In particular, government investigations, as well as qui tam and stockholder lawsuits, may lead to material fines, penalties, damages payments or other sanctions, including exclusion from government healthcare programs. The federal False Claims Act permits private parties to bring qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuits on behalf of the government against companies alleging that the defendant has defrauded the federal government. These private parties are entitled to share in any amounts recovered by the government, and, as a result, the number of whistleblower lawsuits that have been filed against providers has increased significantly in recent years. Because qui tam lawsuits are filed under seal, we could be named in one or more such lawsuits of which we are not aware. Settlements of lawsuits involving Medicare and Medicaid issues routinely require both monetary payments and corporate integrity agreements, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows.

If our financial exposure in connection with litigation relating to the Pavilion Behavioral Health System exhausts all or a significant portion of the remaining commercial insurance coverage available to our subsidiaries related to other occurrences in 2020, or it causes us to have to post a large bond or other collateral during an appeal process, our future results of operations and capital resources could be materially adversely impacted.

As previously reported on Form 8-K as filed on April 1, 2024, the Pavilion Behavioral Health System (the “Pavilion”), an indirect subsidiary of the Company, is a defendant in a lawsuit filed in Champaign County, Illinois, relating to the sexual assault of one minor patient by another minor patient in 2020. The plaintiff asserted claims of negligence and misrepresentation. The Pavilion denied any liability. The case went to trial in March of 2024. On March 28, 2024, a jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $60 million and punitive damages of $475 million and a related judgment was entered against the Pavilion. Based on a search of verdicts in comparable cases, the magnitude of this verdict was unexpected and is unprecedented for a single-plaintiff injury case of this type in Champaign County, Illinois. The Pavilion is evaluating all legal options and intends to challenge this verdict in post-judgment trial court proceedings and on appeal. We are uncertain as to the ultimate financial exposure related to the Pavilion matter and we can make no assurances regarding its outcome, or the amount of damages that may be held recoverable after post-judgment proceedings and appeal. While the Pavilion has professional liability insurance to cover a portion of these amounts, the resolution of this matter may have a material adverse effect on the Company. As of March 31, 2024, without reduction for any potential amounts related to the above-mentioned Pavilion matter, the Company and its subsidiaries have aggregate insurance coverage of approximately $221 million remaining under commercial policies for matters applicable to the 2020 policy year (in excess of the applicable self-insured retention amounts ($10 million per occurrence for professional liability claims and $3 million per occurrence for general liability claims)). In the event the resolution of the Pavilion matter exhausts all or a significant portion of the remaining commercial insurance coverage available to the Company and its subsidiaries for claims that occurred in 2020, or it causes us to have to post a large bond or other collateral during an appeal process, our future results of operations and capital resources could be materially adversely impacted.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equi****ty Securities and Use of Proceeds

As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate available repurchase authorization of $422.9 million pursuant to our stock repurchase program. Pursuant to this program, shares of our Class B Common Stock may be repurchased, from time to time as conditions allow, on the open market or in negotiated private transactions. There is no expiration date for our stock repurchase program.

As reflected below, during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, we have repurchased 700,000 shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $125.10 million (approximately $178.71 per share) pursuant to the terms of our stock repurchase program. In addition, during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, 205,172 shares were repurchased in connection with income tax withholding obligations resulting from stock-based compensation programs.

During the period of January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024, we repurchased the following shares:

Dividends

During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, we declared and paid dividends of $.20 per share. Dividend equivalents are accrued on unvested restricted stock units and will be paid upon vesting of the restricted stock unit.

None of the Company’s directors or officers adopted, modified or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement or a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement during the Company’s quarter ended March 31, 2024, as such terms are defined under Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K.

UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Signa****tures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.