Explore Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report featuring March 2026 data and insights on hospital margins, patient volumes, revenue trends, rising expenses, and the evolving financial pressures facing healthcare organizations.

Explore Kaufman Hall’s Q1 2026 M&A report highlighting renewed hospital and health system deal activity, key trends, and how financial pressures, market uncertainty, and strategic partnerships are shaping healthcare consolidation.

Hospital financial performance is tenuous in early 2026. Hospital expenses remain elevated, while revenues are pressured by an eroding payer mix. Kaufman Hall's recent issue of the National Hospital Flash Report covers these and other key performance metrics.

Explore Kaufman Hall’s January 2026 National Hospital Flash Report for the latest data on hospital margins, volumes, revenue, and expenses across more than 1,300 U.S. hospitals.

Learn how healthcare leaders are turning AI from hype into real value—improving operations, workforce efficiency, and patient experience through practical strategy and governance.

Compensation is not keeping pace with physician productivity, while patient demand continues to rise and the proportion of advanced practice providers expands across the workforce.

Hospital performance settled into a “new normal” in 2025. Patient volumes continue to grow, and a persistent gap between gross and net operating revenue indicates an eroding payer mix and more uninsured patients.

Explore how hospitals and health systems are navigating persistent financial headwinds through strategic mergers, partnerships and realignment. The 2025 M&A Review, offers expert insights on evolving deal structures, capital constraints and the growing role of scale and specialization.

Despite a decline in hospital performance and volume this month, year-to-date revenue, volume, and margins are still strong compared to prior years.

From managing non-labor expenses to strengthening the workforce, expanding access and navigating payer reimbursement, health systems shared the key challenges shaping their focus this year—and their planning for the year ahead.

Hospital volumes remained strong in October, while average length of stay declined, translating to a dip in net revenue per discharge. Bad debt and charity care continue to rise, and staffing levels are tightening.

The latest Kaufman Hall Report includes highlights from the annual Healthcare Leadership Conference.