Drop in government COVID-19 relief funding along with escalating staffing and supply costs pushed Main Line Health back in the red, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The Radnor-based health system posted a net loss of $7 million for the second half of the last year, compared to a $51 million profit during the same period in 2020.

“Our industry has been financially devastated over the past two years,” said Jack Lynch, Main Line Health’s CEO. “I think all employers who think health care costs should go down and insurance premiums should be lower are going to have to face some grim realities.”

Main Line Health is the parent company of Bryn Mawr, Lankenau, Paoli, Riddle, and Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation hospitals. It received $77.5 million in CARES Act and FEMA COVID-19 response funding during the second half of 2020 but that figure went down to $11.6 million for the last two quarters of 2021.

Additionally, the health system is struggling with growing supply costs caused by supply chain problems as well as increases in the “salaries and outside fees” category, said Lynch.

Read more about Main Line Health and the drop in COVID-19 relief funding in the Philadelphia Business Journal.