Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association CRITICAL CONDITION: How Mounting Hospital Pressures Put Patient Care at Risk
Massachusetts hospitals and health systems have withstood their share of crises, but the massive pressures closing in on them will soon result in reduced patient services and access.
The strains are emerging from every angle. The population is aging and patient needs are evolving rapidly. The cost of delivering care is outpacing revenue for many providers, with unprecedented financial disruptions lurking around the corner. Hospitals’ essential role as employers of more than 200,000 workers and around-the-clock sources of high-quality care is under threat.
This snapshot illustrates the pressures rattling the mission of local hospitals and health systems, the real impacts of persistently low operating margins, and just a few of the immediate solutions needed to create a more affordable, resilient system.
KEY DATA POINTS
Hospital expenses spiked upwards by 54% over just four years.
Major disruption is ahead.
$1.7 billion is at risk for local hospitals in the next year due to new and proposed policies driven by federal dynamics.
That number grows to $2.3 billion by 2030.
The state’s safety net is fraying, with hospitals solely responsible for covering the shortfalls.
Hospital operations are suffering. Persistent losses force them to make difficult decisions affecting patients and workers.
The mission of Massachusetts hospitals and health systems remains unchanged, but their ability to deliver on that mission is being tested like never before. Hospitals are open 24/7 to every person who walks through their doors – no matter their need or ability to pay. As the squeeze around the system tightens, every patient and community stands to feel the consequences.
Meanwhile, provider organizations are continuing to exhaust the creative – and sometimes painful – solutions within their own control, often with little or no margin left to tap into. Massachusetts’ ability to sustain and evolve its world-renowned healthcare community for patients through an era of disruption will depend on its ability to seize upon several stabilizing measures.