Hospitals Lose Money, Volume as Covid Fears Keep Patients Away

An estimated 28% of U.S. hospitals are losing money amid growing declines in admissions and patient visits due to rising Covid-19 infection rates, according to new industry data.

As of Nov. 7, hospital admissions, observation visits, and emergency room and outpatient visits were falling at more than twice the rate of a previous 30-day reporting period, according to data from Strata Decision Technology, which provides financial analytics for the health-care industry. The patient encounter data also showed hospital visits declining for each of 28 types of illnesses over a two-week period ending Oct. 17.

The company told Bloomberg Law that ...