How are South Carolina hospitals doing financially?

20 of 63 South Carolina hospitals (32%) reported a loss on patient care in their latest full-year Medicare cost report, compared with 55% nationwide. The median operating margin was 9.5%, 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.

South Carolina hospitals reported $674.6 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 Greenville Memorial Hospital ($78.3 million), MUSC Medical Center ($77.5 million), Trident Medical Center ($49.0 million), Spartanburg Regional Medical Center ($45.3 million), Lexington Medical Center ($42.0 million).

South Carolina ranks 2 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 (32% vs 55%).

MUSC Medical Center in Charleston reported the most net patient revenue: $2.5 billion in its latest full-year cost report, with 949 beds and an operating margin of -40.5%.

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.