Hospitals - Research and Data from KFF

Recent Studies Show That Medicaid Expansion Has Improved the Financial Performance of Hospitals and Other Providers, In Line With Prior Research

Jan 18, 2023

News Release

A KFF synthesis of recent studies finds that Medicaid expansion has been beneficial to the finances of hospitals and providers, driving decreases in the share of uninsured patients, increases in Medicaid-covered patients and declines in uncompensated care. By financing coverage for low-income people who are likely to otherwise be uninsured, Medicaid expansion provides potential economic benefits to the health care providers who provide care to that population. Studies suggest that hospitals experienced higher reimbursements and…

What Does the Recent Literature Say About Medicaid Expansion?: Economic Impacts on Providers

Jan 18, 2023

Issue Brief

This issue brief updates prior KFF literature reviews by summarizing 24 studies published between April 2021 and December 2022 on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion on providers.

Emergency Department Visits Exceed Affordability Threshold For Many Consumers With Private Insurance

Dec 16, 2022

Issue Brief

This analysis uses 2019 insurance claims data from large employer health plans to assess the total and out-of-pocket costs of emergency department visits, overall and by diagnosis and severity level. It also looks at which services contribute most to the costs of emergency department visits.

The Nation’s Largest For-Profit Health Systems Have Typically Had Operating Margins That Meet or Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels

Dec 5, 2022

News Release

Despite higher inflation and dwindling COVID-19 relief funding from the federal government, the nation’s largest for-profit health systems so far this year have operating margins that meet or exceed levels in 2019 prior to the pandemic, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis examines the financial performance of the three largest for-profit systems in the country, HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and Community Health Systems, which collectively account for about 8 percent of all community…

Operating Margins Among the Largest For-Profit Health Systems Have Exceeded 2019 Levels for the Majority of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dec 5, 2022

Issue Brief

This data note examines the financial performance of the three largest for-profit hospital systems in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. All three health systems have had positive operating margins that have exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the majority of the pandemic, including in the third quarter of 2022.

KFF’s Kaiser Health News Investigates Private Equity’s Stealth Takeover of Health Care in the United States

Nov 14, 2022

News Release

A new investigation by KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) lays bare the sizeable efforts by private equity investors to take over large and lucrative parts of the U.S health care system in recent years. KHN found that private equity firms have invested nearly $1 trillion through thousands of deals to acquire hospitals and specialized medical practices during the last decade alone. The deals, many of them unnoticed by federal regulators, typically result in a ratcheting…

Cost of COVID-19 Hospital Admissions among People with Private Health Coverage

Nov 14, 2022

Issue Brief

This analysis examines the cost of COVID-19 treatment for inpatient care among people with health coverage through large employers. It finds that in 2020, COVID-19 hospitalizations cost an average of $41,611, including an average out-of-pocket payment of $1,280 for people with large employer coverage.

Hospital Charity Care: How It Works and Why It Matters

Nov 3, 2022

Issue Brief

This issue brief examines the role that hospital charity care programs play in helping patients who are unable to afford their care. It describes how hospital charity care programs work, the amount of charity care that hospitals provide, relevant federal and state regulation, the role of Medicare and Medicaid in helping hospitals afford charity care expenses, and policy proposals related to charity care programs.

Half of All Hospitals Have Charity Care Costs That Represent 1.4% or Less of Their Operating Expenses

Nov 3, 2022

News Release

Half of hospitals reported that the cost of providing charity care to patients represented 1.4% or less of their operating expenses in 2020, though the rates vary widely from hospital to hospital, a new KFF analysis finds. Based on a review of hospital cost report data, the analysis finds some hospitals provide little or no charity care (0.1% or less of operating expenses at 8% of hospitals), while others provide far more charity care (at…

Ending COVID-19 Emergency Declarations Will Bring an End to Flexibilities that Aided Patients, Providers, Insurers, and Public Programs in Responding to the Pandemic

Apr 8, 2022

News Release

When the federal government ends COVID-19 emergency declarations that were declared in the early days of the pandemic, it will bring to a close several changes that were enacted temporarily to enable the U.S. health care system to better deal with the crisis. A new KFF resource details a number of those flexibilities and lays out what it will mean for people, providers and federal health programs when they go away. One of the key…

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