Healthcare DIVE November 30, 2022
Dive Brief:
- Heightened expenses, ongoing staffing shortages and fewer patient discharges have hospitals facing negative margins near the end of the year, according to Kaufman Hall’s monthly national flash report out Wednesday.
- Median operating margins have been in the red for 10 consecutive months and were down 2% in October from September. Median operating margins were down 13% year over year in October, according to the report.
- Total labor expenses rose 3% from September and total expenses rose 1%, while supply and drug expenses did fall slightly during the month.
Dive Insight:
Ongoing staffing shortages are a key contributor to the heightened expenses facing hospitals today, according to Kaufman Hall’s report. Hospital expenses again rose slightly in October,...