How are Pennsylvania hospitals doing financially?

89 of 180 Pennsylvania hospitals (49%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was 0.1%, 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.

Pennsylvania hospitals reported $701.3 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 Lehigh Valley Hospital ($31.0 million), Hospital of the Univ of Pa ($30.9 million), Geisinger Medical Center ($29.6 million), Lancaster General Hospital ($29.6 million), Milton S Hershey Medical Center ($29.5 million).

Pennsylvania ranks 18 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 (49% vs 55%).

Hospital of the Univ of Pa in Philadelphia reported the most net patient revenue: $4.0 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 1,002 beds and an operating margin of -18.2%.

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.