Hospitals Pay $24 Billion More a Year for Staff During Pandemic

Hospitals are paying $24 billion more for labor annually due to pandemic-driven staffing shortages and increased patient demand, draining resources when they’re already feeling the physical and emotional toll of the virus.

The $24 billion, according to data released Wednesday from health-care improvement company Premier Inc., represents an 8% increase in clinical labor costs per patient day compared with 2019.

Hospitals have had to pay nurses and other staff members inflated wages to keep their doors open amid nationwide staffing shortages, driven by burnout from an unrelenting virus, firings and resignations over vaccine mandates, and sickness and quarantine. Some ...