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Kaufman Hall analysis shows some improvement in revenues and volumes from April to May ‘22, but hospitals continue to perform below pre-pandemic levels.

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.

The pandemic and its complex social and economic effects have dislocated the modern workforce. The problem is especially profound in healthcare, where nearly 1 in 5 workers quit their jobs during the pandemic and one-third of nurses plan to leave their current roles by the end of 2022.

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.

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.

Physician practices nationwide had a busy start to 2022, as physician productivity, compensation, and revenues all rose with higher patient volumes from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022.

COVID-19 continued to place a heavy financial burden on California’s hospitals through the second year of the pandemic, as they experienced financial losses of nearly $6 billion in 2021, more than triple previous projections.

Health system M&A activity was down in the first quarter of 2022, with both a smaller number of deals and a smaller average transaction size. A high percentage of deals involved for-profit sellers.

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...

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...

Hospitals and health systems are feeling the full effects of the Great Resignation as labor expenses climb despite lower staffing levels. As a result, hospitals are paying higher wages to compete for qualified personnel. Read the Winter 2022 Kaufman Hall Report for strategies for improving recruitment and retention.

U.S. physician practices ended 2021 with sizeable gains in physician productivity and revenues relative to late 2020 performance, but mounting expenses and high levels of investments/subsidies required to support practice operations continue to be areas of concern.