Council releases report on state’s non-general acute care hospitals

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council recently released analysis on the state’s non-general acute care (GAC) hospitals for fiscal year 2017.

Non-GAC hospitals are facilities that address specific needs to improve quality of life.

The council examined operating margins, total margins and uncompensated care for 76 non-GAC hospitals licensed in Pennsylvania.

Operating margin is the percentage of operating revenue after all operating expenses have been paid. Operating margins varied widely, depending on the type of facility. Rehabilitation hospitals had operating margins of 9.06 percent while long-term acute care hospitals had margins of 0.70 percent.

Total margin reflects a facility’s financial health. After all sources of revenue and income are included, if the total margin is negative, the hospital is losing money. Specialty hospitals had total margins of 11.97 percent while psychiatric hospitals only had margins of 0.78 percent.

Charity care is the care provided for free because a patient is unable to pay. Bad debt is lost from services where payment cannot be collected.

Uncompensated care is the ratio of total care to charity care and bad debt. In 2017, uncompensated care grew by nearly $1 million, a 5.76 percent jump from fiscal year 2016.

This is the final report in a series on the state’s hospitals.