Company: UHS
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-027785
Chunk: 281

Company: UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 281
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 capital resources sooner than expected. Further, given the complexities of the reimbursement landscape in which we operate, our ability to pass on increased costs associated with providing healthcare to Medicare and Medicaid patients is limited due to various federal, state and local laws, which in certain circumstances, limit our ability to increase prices;

•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. We have implemented various initiatives to mitigate the increased expense, to the degree possible, which has moderated the rate of increase.  However, significant increases in these physician related expenses could have a material unfavorable impact on our future results of operations;

•the increase in interest rates during the past few years has increased our interest expense significantly thereby reducing our free cash flow.  As such, although interest rates have moderated more recently, the effects of increased borrowing rates have adversely impacted our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. We cannot predict future changes to interest rates, however, significant increases in our borrowing rates could have a material unfavorable impact on our future results of operations and our ability to access the capital markets on favorable terms;

•President Biden signed into law fiscal year 2025 appropriations to federal agencies for continuing projects and activities through March 14, 2025. We cannot predict whether or not there will be future legislation averting a federal government shutdown, however, our operating cash flows and results of operations could be materially unfavorably impacted by a federal government shutdown;

•on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, was signed into law phasing out the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage rate that states received during the COVID-19 public health emergency and fully eliminated the increase on December 31, 2023.  States were also permitted to begin Medicaid eligibility redeterminations on March 31, 2023, which has resulted in a decrease in Medicaid enrollment;

•our ability to comply with the existing laws and government regulations, and/or changes in laws and government regulations, including the recently enacted and proposed significant new tariffs. Significant tariffs or other restrictions, if imposed on our imported pharmaceutical ingredients, medical devices, medical equipment and their ingredients and components, could escalate costs of medications, medical devices and medical equipment and disrupt our supply chains. While we continue to evaluate the potential impact of the new tariffs on our business, given the uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of any new tariffs, as well as the potential for additional tariffs or trade barriers by