As hospitals have shown slight financial improvements so far in 2023, the same challenges that made 2022 the worst financial year since the start of the pandemic haven’t abated. Economic uncertainty is going to be the “new normal” for hospitals this year, according to the latest National Hospital Flash Report from Kaufman Hall. Hospitals started 2023 in a better financial position than in 2022, which coincided with the onset of the Omicron variant surge, however, numbers are still not where they were in 2020 and 2021, Health Leaders Media reports.
The median year-to-date operating margin index for hospitals was -1% in January 2023, compared to -3.7% in January 2022. The 2023 year-to-date operating margin index was still lower than that of 2021 at -0.1%, and 2020 at 3.1%. Read more.
