How are New Mexico hospitals doing financially?

18 of 41 New Mexico hospitals (44%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was 4.4%, 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 Mexico hospitals reported $152.0 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 Presbyterian Hospital ($39.8 million), UNM Hospital ($36.3 million), St Vincent Hospital ($11.8 million), Carlsbad Medical Center ($7.0 million), Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital ($6.5 million).

New Mexico ranks 7 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 (44% vs 55%).

Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque reported the most net patient revenue: $1.8 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 772 beds and an operating margin of -2.4%.

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.