Pennsylvania hospitals report better finances in 2010 as compared to the two previous years.

The Butler’ area’s three main hospitals — Butler Memorial Hospital, Grove City Medical Center in Grove City and ACMH in West Kittanning — all report increases in revenue for 2010.

According to a report issued Friday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, hospitals across the state report a revenue increase of 5.26 percent in 2010 as compared to 2.03 percent in 2009, or a total net income increase of $1.92 billion for 2010 from 2009’s $696 million.

Kevin Stansbury, Butler Memorial’s vice president of business development and corporate image, is taking the 2010 revenue increases with a grain of salt.

“While it is true that overall we had relatively strong margins for FY10, we view that increase as an anomaly,” he said. “Hospitals are facing significant downward pressure on revenues brought about by a tightening of the state and federal budgets, as well as realizing the initial effects of health care reform.”

Butler Memorial reports net patient revenue for 2010 of $197 million, up 7.62 percent from 2009’s $178 million. Total operating expenses for 2010 are $187 million, up 7.57 percent from 2009’s $173 million.

The Grove City Medical Center increased net patient revenue $1 million, up to $44 million from 2009’s $43 million. Total operating expenses were up $2 million from 2009 to $44 million.

JoAnne Clobus, vice president of marketing and public relations, said what that means to the Grove City community is that the center contributed more than $77 million to the area’s economy from employee salaries to free care.

Clobus said $44 million went directly into the local economy, including more than $17 million through the salaries of the organization’s 500 employees and more from the ripple effect on businesses as a result of the organization buying goods and using services locally.

The nonprofit, community-based hospital also provided more than $3 million in uncompensated care, and the cost of care provided for Medicaid and Medicare patients in excess of what the medical center was reimbursed was $2.5 million.

ACMH Hospital, according to the council report, had a 7.56 percent increase in net revenue, from $88 million in 2009 to $94 million in 2010, while operating expenses only increased by $2 million, to $92 million for that same period.

ACMH did not comment for this story.

Statewide, hospitals’ operating income — the amount operating revenue exceeds total operating expenses — rose from $1.23 billion in 2009 to $1.58 billion in 2010.

At the same time, however, the amount of uncompensated or free care also grew to $891 million, up 8 percent from 2009’s $825 million.

In a news release, Joe Martin, council executive director, said, “Overall, the financial health of Pennsylvania’s hospitals improved primarily because of gains in the economy and the stock market. However, the cost to hospitals for providing uncompensated care continues to increase.”