CHICAGO – Jan. 7, 2025 – Hospitals and health systems nationwide saw operating margins narrow in November as patient demand waned and expenses continued to grow, according to new data from Strata Decision Technology.
CHICAGO – Nov. 25, 2024 – Health systems nationwide saw slight margin gains in October following three months of declines, while hospital operating margins narrowed slightly following two months of increases.
The median year-to-date (YTD) health system operating margin rose from 1.6% in September to 1.8% in October. Meanwhile, the median YTD hospital operating margin dropped from 5.1% to 4.9% over the same period.
Across healthcare, there is a pressing need to understand the true costs of delivering care. This report, developed for the American Hospital Association, discusses the limitations of commonly used cost-accounting methodologies that are based on charges. It describes alternative cost accounting methods used by many healthcare organizations that better reflect the complexities of healthcare costs, such as the HFMA-Strata L7 Cost Accounting Model.
July 10, 2020
While healthcare organizations have long believed that higher quality amounts to lower cost, quantifying the impact of improved quality of care has proven difficult. Without the necessary tools, processes, and strong internal support, providers have been unable to demonstrate the real cost and margin impact of higher quality care.
