How are Iowa hospitals doing financially?

59 of 113 Iowa hospitals (52%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was -0.2%, higher than the U.S. median of -1.6%. The operating margin leaves out donations, investment income and grants, so some of these hospitals still end the year in the black.

Iowa hospitals reported $154.7 million in charity care (the cost of free or discounted care for patients who qualify) in their latest full-year reports. The largest amounts came from University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics ($24.5 million), Mercy Medical Center - Cedar Rapids ($10.0 million), Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines ($9.7 million), Mercyone Siouxland Medical Center ($8.6 million), Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center ($8.5 million).

Iowa ranks 20 of 50 states by the median operating margin of its hospitals (1 = highest). A smaller share of its hospitals lost money on patient care than the U.S. as a whole (52% vs 55%).

University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics in Iowa City reported the most net patient revenue: $2.6 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 743 beds and an operating margin of -17.0%.

It is how much a hospital keeps from patient care after paying its operating costs, as a share of its patient revenue. A margin of 5% means the hospital kept 5 cents of every dollar it earned from patients; a negative margin means patient care cost more than it brought in. It excludes donations, investment income and grants.