Moody’s hospital financial outlook still grim for 2014
Moody’s Investors Service predicts the financial outlook for US not-for-profit hospitals will be no better in 2014 (and which has been negative since 2008). They expect hospitals will continue to see tight margins, as revenue will not keep up with expenses. Contributing factors to this revenue deficit include lower Medicare reimbursements, reductions in disproportionate share payments, and lower inpatient volumes (by heather at dhead inc). Uneven uptake in newly insured (via Medicaid or exchanges) will also be unpredictable and highly variable. Overall, for hospitalists, this will have to translate into a continued and fierce focus on Value (Quality / Cost) for all of us, to maintain feasible operating margins within our hospitals (Moody’s summary).
Dr. Scheurer is a clinical hospitalist and the Medical Director of Quality and Safety at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, and is Assistant Professor of Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, completed her residency at Duke University, and completed her Masters in Clinical Research at the Medical University of South Carolina. She also serves as the Web Editor and Physician Advisor for the Society of Hospital Medicine.