More than half of U.S. hospitals lose money on patient care. On the other hand, some make hundreds of millions in profit, a study found.
Looking at about 3,000 acute care hospitals in fiscal year 2013, researchers of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Washington and Lee University, found a striking dichotomy in their financials.
Over half of the hospitals incurred a median loss of $82 per patient. Yet, for example, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis., earned a profit of $4,241 per patient.
Among the top 10 most profitable hospitals, 7 were nonprofit and 3 for profit.
“A small subset of nonprofit hospitals are earning substantial profits,” says study leader Gerard F. Anderson, PhD, a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School. “Either they’re doing something right or they are taking advantage of a flawed payment system.”
