A new financial analysis of 104 health systems comprising 47% of U.S. hospitals finds broad-based deterioration of operating margins post-ACA insurance coverage expansion.
According to the Guidehouse study of for- and not-for-profit health system financial disclosures, from 2015 to 2017:
At the root of these declines were multiyear reductions in the rate of topline operating revenue growth, which fell from 7% (2015 to 2016) to only 5.5% (2016 to 2017), and a failure to contain expenses in line with deterioration.