Hospitals across the U.S. are continuing their long recovery from the financial turbulence of the early 2020s, with April’s data from Kaufman Hall’s “National Hospital Flash Report” offering a mixed but cautiously optimistic outlook.
Based on data from more than 1,300 hospitals gathered by Strata Decision Technology, the report shows while year-to-date operating margins are up 63% compared to 2022, month-over-month performance slipped and year-over-year margins declined, highlighting the fragility of recent gains. Operating EBITDA margins followed a similar pattern, falling 2% month over month and 4% year over year.
Regional trends tell a story of uneven momentum. The South and Great Plains regions posted the strongest operating margin improvements year to date — up 8% and 11% over 2024, respectively — with long-term gains from 2022 nearing or exceeding 60%. In contrast, hospitals in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic saw a steep 16% drop in operating margin month over month, despite showing healthy improvement year to date. The West region stood out for a 7% operating margin increase in April, the strongest monthly gain among all regions, though its year-to-date performance still lagged 2024.
Source: Hospital profitability: 88 statistics by region, size / Becker’s Hospital Review