COVID-19's effects on nonprofit hospitals tapered in the second half of 2021 after more than a year of declining surgery volume and emergency room visits, according to an April 7 report by Alvarez & Marsal Healthcare Industry Group.
The report aggregated data for the second quarter and third quarter of 2021 — before the rise of the omicron variant — with a quiet summer and then an uptick in cases at the end of August.
Here are eight stats from the report that offer a picture of COVID-19's effect on nonprofit hospitals in the second and third quarters of 2021:
1. Net patient revenue decreased by 2.5 percent from 2019 to 2020, but reached 13 percent above pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021.
2. Total operating expenses rose by 5 percent from 2019 to 2020. In the third quarter of 2021, it was 14 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
3. Operating income fell by 14 percent from 2019 to 2020 and returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.
4. Discharges were down by 9 percent from 2019 to 2020 and were 4 percent below pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021.
5. Patient days fell by 5 percent from 2019 to 2020, but reached 5 percent above pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021.
6. Length of stay rose by 6 percent from 2019 to 2020. In the third quarter of 2021, it was more than half a day longer than before the pandemic.
7. Surgeries declined by 12 percent from 2019 to 2020 and were 5 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021.
8. Emergency room visits decreased by 18 percent from 2019 to 2020. They stayed 3 percent below pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021.
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