Dollars are often the story.

That was the case last week when the state’s largest health care provider, Lifespan, disclosed a loss of $55 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The possibility of early retirements and layoffs made headlines and sent tremors through the community.

If the largest provider was running in the red, what about its smaller cousin, Care New England, which operates Kent Hospital? Is CNE, which faces many of the same issues concerning reimbursements and costs, in the same boat?

The answer is yes and no.

CNE likewise released its financials for the fiscal year last week. The system ended the year in the black. It reported it achieved income from operations of $3.8 million, a $31.9 million improvement over fiscal 2018. Its obligated group (CNE excluding Memorial Hospital) achieved income from operations of $5 million, slightly below the $5.3 million generated in fiscal 2018.

The story didn’t make headlines or provide fodder for the talk radio shows. When things are marginally good, it’s not news.

But then, the results are nothing to rave about, either, as CNE president and CEO Dr. James Fanale knows.

“I know that if you look at Lifespan, they had a rough year, you should be happy. We’re content, but not delighted because a four or five million dollar gain, which is about half a percent, is not a strong enough performance that allows us the kind of resource we need to invest in developing. We’re content with the work that we got up there, but we need to strive to do better,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

Lifespan explained its situation this way in a release: “Lifespan’s 2019 financial results can be traced to several factors including, but not limited to: a dramatic and unexpected reduction in Medicare rates of nearly $25 million; a full year’s impact of Memorial Hospital closing, resulting in excessive demands on both The Miriam and Rhode Island hospital, creating throughput inefficiencies; a continuing deterioration in payer mix; and the continued steerage of tertiary care to Boston.”

A Lifespan spokeswoman said Tuesday that early retirements, as announced last week, still remain an option to help close the budget gap. Layoffs were mentioned in follow-up stories by state news media.

Fanale praised his board and staff for getting CNE through a couple of tough years. Yet margins are small.

“You know a lot of not-for-profit organizations need to do a 2 percent or 3 percent margin, and we like to do better than that. So if we could get to 3 percent where you’re earning $30 million in over a billion dollars in business, that’s a hell of a goal for us. We are encumbered by potential Medicare changes; we always worry about those things,” Fanale said.

“What you have to do is a gradual process. We have to make sure we manage our labor costs, manage our supply costs. We have to make sure we get supplies at the lowest rate possible. That’s the cost side of things. Like any good operations, we have to do the best service possible,” he said

Last year at this time, Boston-based Partners HealthCare – soon to be renamed Mass General Brigham – was on a path to acquire CNE at no cost. The plan backed by CNE was seen as providing capital to the system here while improving health care. Lifespan mounted a campaign to stop the move, arguing that Partners would sweep patients from Rhode Island eventually siphon off revenues that keep good doctors here.

When CNE and Partners announced the deal was off, Gov. Gina Raimondo urged CNE, Lifespan and Brown University to come to the table to discuss the feasibility of merging the state’s two largest health care providers. After several months of talks, the CNE board voted in July to break off discussions, citing what it termed its “remarkable [financial] turnaround.”

Would the merger of the two systems make sense?

Fanale answers cautiously.

“I think a lot of complex things go into discussions and decisions like we were having, but I would say that all of our concerns are…two organizations coming together isn’t necessary if you can’t make it all better. If [you are] putting two financially challenged organizations together, how does it make everything better?” he said.

Yet he doesn’t rule out working with Lifespan. He said as recently as last month, he made the effort to open talks with Lifespan. He said he hasn’t gotten a return call.

“I think the leadership between the two biggest health systems in the state should get together to talk about how they can continue to work together. I’ve gone on record saying that we should do that. I’ve reached out several times and we haven’t been able to get together,” he said.