How are New Hampshire hospitals doing financially?

15 of 28 New Hampshire hospitals (54%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was -0.5%, 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.

New Hampshire hospitals reported $137.0 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 Mary Hitchcock Mem Hospital ($27.4 million), Elliot Hospital ($24.7 million), Southern Nh Medical Center ($12.3 million), Portsmouth Regional Hospital ($9.8 million), Concord Hospital ($9.4 million).

New Hampshire ranks 22 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 (54% vs 55%).

Mary Hitchcock Mem Hospital in Lebanon reported the most net patient revenue: $1.9 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 506 beds and an operating margin of -36.2%.

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.