High expenses have been placing added strain on hospitals as they try to recover from the challenges of the pandemic.

 

Hospital finances broke even in April amid a continuing trend of high expenses, plus the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement of the COVID-19 public health emergency

Hospitals experienced increases in bad debt and charity care in April. Combined with decreased patient volumes, authors said the data could illustrate the effects of the start of widespread disenrollment from Medicaid following the end of the PHE and the continuous enrollment provision that accompanied it.

As states continue the process of redetermination, these trends will likely continue.