Lower volumes, higher wages, supply chain disruption all dragged down hospital margins

Hospitals’ performances declined “by almost every metric” during September as volumes dropped, average patient stays rose and expenses increased “dramatically” due to labor and supply chain issues, Kaufman Hall wrote in its latest monthly report.

Although revenue increased compared to this time last year, the industry analyst said that these pressures have led median change in hospital operating margin to decline 18.2% from August to September, not including CARES act funding.

These declines were greatest across regions heavily affected by the recent delta surge, with the west part of the country seeing the largest year-over-year drop in its median change in operating EBITDA margin (38%), Kaufman Hall wrote.

Hospital size also played a role in margin performance, they wrote, with hospitals containing more than 500 beds seeing year-over-year declines of 36% while those with 25 or fewer beds actually seeing their margins increase year over year.

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Adjusted discharges dropped 5.1% month over month but remained up 11.4% year over year. Patient days similarly dropped 1.4% month over month, “reflecting a decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations,” but are still up 11.4% year over year, according to the report. Notably, the average length of stay saw increases across the board—0.7% month over month and 4.8% year over year.

Expenses and revenues continued their hand-in-hand climb during September.

For the former, total expenses grew 2.2% month over month and 11.2% year over year. Labor expenses increased 1.4% month over month at the same time as workers per patient bed declined, the group wrote. Other non-labor expenses, including drugs and medical supplies, also saw a 1.3% month-over-month increase.

“Multiple factors are contributing to alarming and sustained increases in hospital expenses,” Erik Swanson, a senior vice president of data and analytics with Kaufman Hall. “Growth in labor expenses are outpacing increases in hours worked, suggesting hospitals are paying more due to nationwide labor shortages. Rising supply and drug expenses also point to worldwide supply chain issues.”

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Hospital revenues saw their seventh consecutive month of year-to-date increases when compared to 2020 and 2019 alike, “due in part to yearly rate changes and the continued rise in higher acuity cases,” Kaufman Hall wrote. Specifically, gross operating revenues minus CARES grew 12.3% year over year from 2020 and 12.3% year over year from 2019, with inpatient revenue rising faster than outpatient revenue.

Month over month was a different story, however, with gross operating revenue without CARES dropping 1.4%. While inpatient revenue was up 1.5% from August, a 3.3% decline in outpatient revenue “suggests that consumer worries about accessing care during the recent delta surge have led to another downswing,” Kaufman Hall wrote.  

Kaufman Hall’s reports incorporate data from more than 900 U.S. hospitals. The September numbers follow early warnings of delta-fueled recovery roadblocks from the group’s preceding monthly reports as well as recent hospital chain earnings calls highlighting high revenues, costs and COVID-19 patient counts.