National Hospital Flash Report
Only source for monthly real-time industry performance data
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The National Hospital Flash Report provides timely and unique insights into the performance of hospitals nationwide. Published monthly, the report includes data and analyses across the key areas of margins, volumes, revenues, and expenses derived from more than 900 U.S. hospitals.
The Current State of Hospital Finances: Fall 2022 Update
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, our nation’s hospitals and health systems have coped with intense pressure on staff and resources. As hospital executives...
Research Report
National Hospital Flash Report: August 2022
U.S. hospitals and health systems are experiencing some of the worst margins since the beginning of the pandemic, and they lack the federal funds to offset the damage. The gains hospitals saw in recent months reversed themselves in July, as lagging outpatient volumes shrunk revenues and expenses jumped up from June.
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National Hospital Flash Report: July 2022
U.S. hospitals and health systems are now halfway through an enormously difficult year. While margins were up in June compared to May, expenses remain at historic highs, leaving...
Research Report
National Hospital Flash Report: June 2022
Kaufman Hall analysis shows some improvement in revenues and volumes from April to May ‘22, but hospitals continue to perform below pre-pandemic levels.
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Hospital Finance Podcast features Kaufman Hall’s Erik Swanson
Erik Swanson discusses the key findings from the most recent National Hospital Flash Report and the continued financial struggles of hospitals nationwide in a new Hospital Finance Podcast episode.
Podcast
National Hospital Flash Report: May 2022
2022 is shaping up to be a difficult year for our clients. Hospital operating margins remained in the red for a fourth consecutive month in April as organizations struggle to rebound from the Omicron surge. Although volumes improved and costs abated slightly in March, this changed in April.
Research Report
A Special Workforce Edition of the National Hospital Flash Report
A nationwide shortage of healthcare workers made worse by the pandemic, and hospital and health systems’ increased reliance on contract labor, is driving expenses upward and contributing to steep declines in profit margins, according to a Special Workforce Edition of Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report.
Research Report
National Hospital Flash Report: April 2022
U.S. hospitals and health systems fared better in March following a difficult start to the year due to January’s devastating Omicron surge. While repercussions of the surge persist, hospitals saw early signs of relief as outpatient volumes and revenues returned and expenses eased with fewer high acuity patients.
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National Hospital Flash Report: March 2022
2022 is off to a bad start for U.S. hospitals and health systems. Hospital operating margins remained in the red for a second consecutive month in February as healthcare providers...
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National Hospital Flash Report: February 2022
The first month of 2022 was devastating for hospitals and health systems nationwide as they were hit full force by the Omicron tidal wave. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations peaked at...
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National Hospital Flash Report: January 2022
Hospitals and health systems nationwide closed the second year of the pandemic caught in a vise of rising volumes and ballooning expenses, as COVID-19 cases climbed to new highs and...
Research Report
Rising Labor Expenses Strain Hospital Finances
In a new Hospital Finance podcast episode, Kaufman Hall SVP, Erik Swanson, discusses the results of the January 2022 National Hospital Flash Report that looks at the financial performance of hospitals.
Podcast
National Hospital Flash Report Summary: December 2021
Hospitals and health systems nationwide experienced another challenging month in November as COVID-19 hospitalizations rose more than 25% over the course of the month.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: November 2021
Hospital Margins Drop for a Second Month as Labor Expenses Climb U.S. hospitals and health systems were hit with a second consecutive month of margin declines in October as mounting...
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: October 2021
High numbers of high-acuity patients coupled with escalating expenses continued to stress the nation’s hospitals and health systems in September, according to the latest National Hospital Flash Report. Overall hospital performance declined across most metrics for the month.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: September 2021
Rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations from the hyper-transmissible Delta variant continued to deepen pressures on the nation’s hospitals and health systems in August, according to the latest issue of Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: August 2021
A resurgence of COVID-19 cases from rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant is raising new uncertainties for hospitals and health systems across the country.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: July 2021
June was a mixed month for the nation’s hospitals and health systems. While key performance metrics continued to improve compared to poor performance seen in the early months of the pandemic in 2020, margins and volumes remained below pre-pandemic levels from 2019, not including federal CARES Act funding.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: June 2021
The nation’s hospitals and health systems continued to see gains across key metrics in May compared to dramatic losses experienced in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Volumes and margins both increased compared to 2020 levels, but remain down compared to 2019.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: May 2021
Hospitals and health systems across the country continued to see gains in April compared to devastating losses in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: April 2021
U.S. hospitals and health systems saw mixed performance in March as national COVID-19 metrics plateaued early in the month before climbing steadily again with increased spread of COVID-19 variants, rising travel rates, and further lifting of pandemic-related restrictions in many states.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: March 2021
February 2021 was another challenging month for U.S. hospitals and health systems, as margins were affected by continued low outpatient volumes combined with declining inpatient volumes following January’s record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations.
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National Hospital Flash Report Summary: February 2021
Hospitals and health systems had a difficult start to 2021 as declining volumes, falling outpatient revenues, and rising expenses contributed to significant January margin declines. The ongoing effects of COVID-19 propelled January’s poor results, but it was a mixed month in terms of COVID-19 metrics.
Research Report
National Hospital Flash Report: January 2021
Hospitals and health systems across the country closed a tumultuous 2020 with record levels of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and continued poor performance across most metrics in December. Hospital margins fell significantly with declining volumes and outpatient revenues, and escalating expenses compared to 2019.
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National Hospital Flash Report: December 2020
Mounting cases of COVID-19 are heightening the stress on our nation’s hospitals and health systems, even as many celebrate the recent approval and distribution of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
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National Hospital Flash Report: November 2020
COVID-19 Continues to hit hospital finances hard as cases mount. With the federal aid, the median margin was 2.4% YTD. Operating Margin fell 69.4% YTD (6.0 percentage points) without CARES compared to January-October 2019, and 18.7% YTD (1.7 percentage points) with CARES.
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National Hospital Flash Report: October 2020
The nation’s hospitals continue to face an uncertain operating environment, with margins fluctuating from month to month. Read more in this month's report.
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National Hospital Flash Report: September 2020
Margins have consistently performed below 2019 levels as a result. Even so, the last few months had shown some signs of potential progress, with margins increasing incrementally month-over-month.
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National Hospital Flash Report: August 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to drive significant volatility in operating performance for hospitals across the country in July, suppressing volumes and revenues compared to the same period last year.
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National Hospital Flash Report: July 2020
Even when including the CARES Act relief, the year-to-date median hospital operating margin is still 200-300bps below historical and sustainable performance.
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The National Hospital Flash Report uses actual data sampled from over 800 hospitals from Syntellis' Axiom™ Comparative Analytics — software that provides unparalleled comparisons to drive real-time operational decisions and performance improvement initiatives. Learn more about how Comparative Analytics can help you find your fastest path to recovery.