2020 was a really awful year for hospitals.
The median operating margin dropped 16.6% – and the median facility just barely broke even.
And that was AFTER the billions hospitals received from you and me courtesy of the CARES Act.
Without our largesse, hospital margins dropped…wait for it…55.6%.
Another key datapoint is the use of operating rooms. Usage was down by over 10%; as that’s where hospitals make their money, it’s not surprising that margins dropped even more than operating room usage did.
What does this mean for you?
Nothing good.
Hospitals apparently were on the decline in 2019 even before the pandemic. https://www.hfma.org/topics/news/2019/12/hospital-operating-margins-decline-21–in-2019–tracking-firm-fi.html
Thanks Terry- you are of course correct in some instances however some systems are doing well. or were.
regards Joe