While the problems at Steward Health Care absorbed the spotlight over the past nine months, many other hospitals across Massachusetts continued to struggle financially in what an industry group called a “deeply troubling” trend.
New financial data released by a state agency found that more than half of acute care hospitals in Massachusetts experienced negative operating margins through a significant portion of the fiscal year ending June 30.
Only 25 out of 58 hospitals reported positive operating margins during that span, and the statewide median operating margin fell to 1.1 points to -0.9 percent, the Center for Health Information and Analysis said in a new report .
Even if you remove the bankrupt Steward hospitals — which after the data period ended either closed or were acquired by new owners — from that count, more than four out of 10 remaining hospitals were still in the red.
“Once again, CHIA’s quarterly report is deeply troubling evidence of Massachusetts hospitals’ financial challenges. With more than half of our hospitals operating in the negative and two-thirds of our hospital health systems consistently losing money on their operations, there is a very real threat to the sustainability of care that patients deserve,” said Daniel McHale, a senior vice president for health care finance and policy at the Mass. Health and Hospital Association. “It is critical to recognize the immense — and growing — cost pressures hospitals are incurring to keep services accessible for everyone who needs them.”