How are Ohio hospitals doing financially?

83 of 180 Ohio hospitals (46%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was 1.5%, 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.

Ohio hospitals reported $969.5 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 Metrohealth System ($83.2 million), Cleveland Clinic - Main Campus ($75.2 million), Riverside Methodist Hospital ($54.9 million), Ohio State University Hospitals ($49.5 million), Grant Medical Center ($45.8 million).

Ohio ranks 13 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 (46% vs 55%).

Cleveland Clinic - Main Campus in Cleveland reported the most net patient revenue: $7.4 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 1,318 beds and an operating margin of -23.7%.

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.