Amid increased bipartisan interest from policymakers on the nation’s increasing medical debt burden (estimated to total at least $220B), this week’s graphic examines who holds medical debt and how recent changes to credit reporting have affected them.

After several challenging years, hospitals and health systems are experiencing modest improvements in financial conditions.

Because it has been so long since we have experienced a rate environment that provides for noticeable earnings, the art of generating excess earnings from cash assets may have gone dormant in the minds and busy days of treasurers. If so, it is time to bring that art back to life.

In this week’s graphic, we use data from Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report and Syntellis Market Insights to assess the current state of hospital operating margins.

Community Health Systems plans to sell its three Pennsylvania hospitals, a bankruptcy judge allows Steward Health Care to close two Massachusetts hospitals, and CMS approves North Carolina’s medical debt relief program.

In this week’s graphic, we take stock of both the evolving usage and employer coverage of GLP-1 drugs, specifically for weight loss.

Health systems are confronting a new normal of shrinking revenue and rising labor costs. In the second quarter of 2024, increased labor expenses accounted for 83.9% of total expenses. Additionally, the median investment/subsidy per provider rose 3% since Q2 2023.

The latest Kaufman Hall National Hospital Flash Report shows that the Calendar Year to Date Operating Margin Index for hospitals was 4.1% in June.

Length of stay affects many elements of a hospital’s financial performance, and it is also a key driver of patient satisfaction. Effective management of length of stay requires consistent leadership, and hospitalists are the logical choice to fill that leadership role.

In this week’s graphic, we highlight the most recent data from software and analytics firm Strata Decision Technology to assess how hospital volumes have changed since 2022.