How are New Jersey hospitals doing financially?

41 of 74 New Jersey hospitals (55%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was -0.7%, 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 Jersey hospitals reported $1.2 billion 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 Hackensack University Medical Center ($77.0 million), Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital ($68.6 million), Newark Beth Israel Medical Center ($63.4 million), Bergen Regional Medical Center ($62.2 million), Umdnj University Hospital ($52.0 million).

New Jersey ranks 23 of 50 states by the median operating margin of its hospitals (1 = highest). A larger share of its hospitals lost money on patient care than the U.S. as a whole (55% vs 55%).

Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack reported the most net patient revenue: $2.7 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 769 beds and an operating margin of -5.2%.

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.