Monday 19 September 2022 09:35 PM Up to 70% of US hospitals will lose money in 2022 trends now
Hospitals in the United States are hemorrhaging funds and many are sounding the alarm that they may not be able to continue operations unless rocketing costs and labor shortages are resolved in the coming months.
A report published last week by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and KaufmanHall last week projects that up to 70 percent of hospitals in America may end 2022 having lost money. Increasing costs of labor are the main contributor. Many have also had trouble bringing in revenue, as shortages in labor have reduced their capacity to provide services.
One notable example of a hospital that has struggled is Mass General Brigham hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts, which posted $949 million in losses in the third quarter of the 2022 fiscal year - ending in June. The hospital points to surging labor costs and staffing shortages for the unprecedented losses.
American hospitals have struggled throughout the pandemic. Many operations were deferred as a result of lockdowns and Covid restrictions. The pandemic also led to an exodus of medical staff, specifically in nursing, leading to many relying on more expensive contract labor to fill roles. As a result, even more nurses left their full-time roles for contract roles, exacerbating the situation.
More than half of hospitals are projected to lose money in 2022, with worst case scenarios showing nearly 70% losing money throughout the year
Mass General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, posted quarterly losses of nearly $1 billion in Q3 of the 2022 fiscal year
'Hospitals stand to lose billions of dollars in 2022,' Dr Therese Fitzpatrick, senior vice president at KaufmanHall, said during an press
'It will be the worst year since the start of the pandemic.'
The report, published Thursday, found that the profit margins on health care have fallen heavily since 2019 - the last year before the pandemic, and shown little signs of recovery.
The first half of 2022 saw margins drop 102 percent from pre-pandemic levels, meaning that hospitals were starting to lose money on care provided.
