A nationwide shortage of health care workers made worse by the pandemic, and increased reliance on contract labor, is driving expenses up and operating margins down for hospitals and health systems, according to a new report by health care management consultancy Kaufman Hall. Based on data from a nationally representative sample of hospitals, the median labor expense per discharge has increased by more than one-third since 2019, with the median wage rate for contract nurses over three times higher than for employed nurses. According to the report, median operating margins for hospitals fell from 5.6% to -1.4% between December 2021 and March 2022, a figure that includes funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The study reinforces the findings in AHA’s recent report on hospitals’ surging costs for labor, drugs, supplies and other resources.

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA June 24 submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee’s Bipartisan Medicare Graduate Medical Education Working Group, which is developing…
Headline
AHA and 51 other national organizations Feb. 27 voiced support for the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (H.R. 6205/S. 3211), bipartisan legislation that…
Perspective
Hospitals and health systems are cornerstones of communities across our nation. The more than 6 million people who work there provide care, compassion and…
Perspective
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee last week held a hearing aptly titled “Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go…
Headline
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., yesterday introduced AHA-supported legislation that would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the travel nursing…
Headline
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., today introduced AHA-supported legislation that would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the travel nursing…