The median profit margin of U.S. hospitals has fallen to zero percent, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis of hospital finances published today.
Driven largely by a decline in non-operating revenues, financial strains are apparent in all types of hospitals - small, medium and large community hospitals, teaching hospitals and major teaching hospitals.
The study tracks two dozen key financial indicators, using proprietary and public data to dissect the balance sheets of more than 400 hospitals nationwide. It evaluates trends in revenue and profit, employment levels, closures, inpatient volume, reimbursement rates, and frequency of elective medical treatments to gauge the fiscal health of the nation's hospitals.
Following are the key findings of the analysis: