How are North Carolina hospitals doing financially?

37 of 113 North Carolina hospitals (33%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was 4.8%, 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.

North Carolina hospitals reported $1.1 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 Duke University Hospital ($114.6 million), UNC Hospitals ($84.1 million), Wakemed, Raleigh Campus ($69.2 million), Carolinas Medical Center/Behav Health ($57.4 million), Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Ce ($48.0 million).

North Carolina ranks 6 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 (33% vs 55%).

Duke University Hospital in Durham reported the most net patient revenue: $4.8 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 1,266 beds and an operating margin of 4.5%.

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.