Guadalupe Regional Medical Center projects $540 million in charges in 2026 budget; county leaders hear details

Guadalupe Regional Medical Center leaders presented a 2026 operating budget to the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court on Oct. 28, telling the court the hospital expects to budget nearly $540 million in gross charges for the year and a budgeted net income of roughly $10.8 million.

"I want you to know that the hospital has celebrated its sixtieth year in existence, this past summer," Robert Haines, GRMC chief executive officer, told the court. Haines said GRMC has about 950 employees and that the organization serves residents across multiple surrounding counties.

Cody, identified in the presentation as GRMC's chief financial officer, said the hospital recorded roughly $495 million in gross charges in the most recent actual year and has budgeted about $540 million for 2026, a roughly $44 million (about 9%) increase. "We got right up close to about half a billion dollars in gross revenue," Cody said, and attributed the budget increase to both higher volume and a roughly 4% price increase.

Cody described expected volume gains in several service lines: imaging (about $10 million), laboratory services (about $5 million), cath lab (about $5 million) and operating room (about $6 million). He said the hospital has recruited new physicians and expects more to join, which would drive some of that additional activity.

On the expense side, the budget includes a payroll figure of about $75 million (salaries and benefits) and a modest increase in supplies and miscellaneous expenses. Cody said the hospital budgeted roughly $34 million more for deductions from revenue (contractuals, charity, bad debt and indigent care), producing a net patient revenue increase of about $11.5 million. He said depreciation in the budget aligns with a roughly $9 million capital plan.

Haines and Cody also described community programs and volumes: GRMC reported about 4,000 inpatient admissions, roughly 600 births, about 34,000 emergency room visits, half a million lab tests, 75,000 imaging tests and more than 10,000 surgeries in the prior year. Haines said the hospital's long-running prescription assistance program has provided more than $150 million in free prescriptions to the community since about 2000; that program delivered roughly $8 million in assistance in the past year.

Cody told the court that recent FEMA reimbursements related to COVID activity produced about $2.5 million in nonoperating revenues in the most recent reported year; donations and foundation gifts are also captured in nonoperating revenue lines.

Court members thanked hospital leaders for the presentation and praised GRMC's community role. No formal county action was requested at the meeting; the presentation was provided for the court's information and to invite continued collaboration between county officials and hospital leadership.

Ending

Haines invited commissioners to tour the facility and said hospital staff and leadership would continue to return as GRMC moves forward with planning toward a long-range facility redevelopment described in the presentation as "GRMC of 2035."