Hospitals - Research and Data from KFF

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…

No Surprises Act Quiz

Mar 17, 2022

Feature

A new federal law provides new consumer protections against "surprise" medical bills beginning this year. Test your knowledge about its provisions with this 12-question quiz.

Outpatient telehealth use soared early in the COVID-19 pandemic but has since receded

Feb 10, 2022

Issue Brief

Telehealth use skyrocketed during the early months of the pandemic. While it has since decreased somewhat from that high, it still represents a much more substantial share of health care than before COVID, this KFF-Epic Research analysis finds.

Telehealth Accounted for 8% of Outpatient Visits More Than a Year into COVID-19 Pandemic, Suggesting a More Permanent Shift in How Patients Receive Care

Feb 10, 2022

News Release

Telehealth use skyrocketed during the early months of the pandemic. While it has since decreased somewhat from that high, it still represents a much more substantial share of health care than before COVID, a new KFF-Epic Research analysis finds. From March through August 2021, 8% of all outpatient visits were conducted via telehealth – down from 13% in the first six months of the pandemic, but well above pre-pandemic levels, when telehealth accounted for a…

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