Study: Hospitals’ financial struggles continued in January

A new Kaufman Hall study is showing the extent to which hospitals’ finances continue to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results from January 2020 to 2021 show alarming trends in hospitals’ margins, volumes and outpatient revenues compared with the year prior, even as COVID-19 numbers trended downward in the end of the month. Kaufman Hall said hospitals’ operating margin fell 46.1%, not taking into account Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.

The report drew from data from more than 900 hospitals nationwide.