Hospitals That Improved Profits Benefited More From Increased Revenues Than Cost Reductions, AHRQ Study Concludes

Increased revenues had a greater impact than decreased costs among hospitals that became more profitable between 2003 and 2013, according to an AHRQ study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. In a study of 2,400 hospitals in eight states, researchers concluded that more profitable hospitals increased per-bed revenues by an average $113,000 per year. The same group of hospitals, meanwhile, reduced per-bed costs by about $10,000 per year. Revenue increases were driven largely by higher non-Medicare insurance payments, the researchers found. This research was funded by AHRQ’s Comparative Health System Performance Initiative, which studies how health care delivery systems promote evidence-based practices and patient-centered outcomes research in delivering care. Access the abstract.