Hospitals saw a significant weakening in their November performance because of lagging volumes and revenues, exacerbated by rising labor costs and other expenses.
In November, hospitals' operating EBITDA margins fell 14.5 percent year over year, according to Kaufman Hall's monthly National Hospital Flash Report. Operating margins were down 21.3 percent year over year.
Fueling the declines were year-over-year decreases in patient volumes and weakening revenues. Hospitals' net patient service revenue per adjusted patient discharge grew less than half a percent in November compared to a year prior. At the same time, expenses grew 2.7 percent year over year.
Improvement is likely on the way, though: For December, Kaufman Hall analysts "anticipate improvement from hospitals across the country and a positive start to 2020, with expected margin increases both month over month and year over year."