Hospital finances are beginning to stabilize as razor thin margins become the new normal, Kaufman Hall notes in a new report. The high level of variance that plagued hospital margins over the past three years is beginning to subside among pricing and inflationary pressures affecting expenses.
The median Kaufman Hall Year-To-Date Operating Margin Index reflecting actual margins was -1.1% in February. Here is the month-to-month change in operating margins for the last year, based on information from 900 hospitals:
March 2022: -2.1 percent
April 2022: – 2.4 percent
May 2022: -1.9 percent
June 2022: -0.7 percent
July 2022: -1.1 percent
August 2022: – 0.6 percent
September 2022: -0.4 percent
October 2022: -0.6 percent
November 2022: -0.6 percent
December 2022: -0.6 percent
January 2023: -0.8 percent
February 2023: -1.1 percent
