Bacon Bits

I’m on jury duty today, so I won’t have time for blogging. But very quickly, a couple of articles worth noting….

Fraudulent graduation rates. In Prince George’s County, Md., four members of the school board have asked the governor for an investigation into what they allege is a systemic effort to fraudulently boost graduation rates in the Maryland school district, reports the Washington Post. “Widespread, systemic corruption” has inflated graduation rates since 2004, they say.

Of course, that’s Maryland, not virtuous Virginia. Such institutional chiseling could not possibly happen here! The steady increase in graduation rates in Virginia schools is due entirely to the extraordinary efforts of teachers, administrators and students!! Still, citizens and school board members should be alert to the possibility, as remote and implausible as it sounds, that similar chiseling occurs in our own school districts.

Health system profits still healthy. We’ve been hearing for years how the profits of Virginia hospitals, though hefty today, are subject to erosion by the buffeting storms of Obamacare and other forces. Yet the profits of our health systems seem to be holding up nicely. The latest evidence comes from Carilion Clinic in Roanoke.

“Carilion Clinic on Monday released financial statements showing continued improvement for both its operating margin and bond ratings that could soon prompt it to make public its plans to expand Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital,” reports the Roanoke Times.

After losing $131 million between 2008 and 2011, Carilion earned $69 million on $1.65 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2016, giving it a 4.2% operating margin. Moody’s affirmed an A1 rating and upgraded Carilion’s outlook from stable to positive. Standard & Poor’s moved Carilion’s rating upward from A+ to AA-.

Carilion provided $67 million worth of services to people who could not afford them during 2016. This was up about $15 million over 2015.