U.S. Hospitals Saw Downturns During a Difficult September
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.
While revenues increased from prior year, they decreased month-over-month as volumes declined relative to pre-pandemic levels and expenses rose dramatically. Hospital operating margins decreased year-over-year compared to both 2020 and 2019 performance, not including federal CARES aid.
Month-over-month, hospitals saw:
- Median change in Operating Margin decline 18.2%
- Adjusted Discharges drop 5.1%
- Gross Operating Revenues decrease 1.4%
- Total Expense per Adjusted Discharge increase 7.6%
Erik Swanson is a Senior Vice President with Kaufman Hall’s Data Analytics practice, focusing on Performance Improvement.
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