Category: Cost Reports

Length of stay remains a challenge

Becker’s Hospital CFO Report recently published an interesting list about hospital lengths of stay, Here’s an excerpt:

Managing a count of days involves much more than meets the eye…

Estimates for the average LOS vary. In 2023, an analysis of 4,405 U.S. hospitals from Definitive showed an average LOS of 4.5 days. South Dakota and Utah had the lowest average at 3.3 days while Maryland and Washington, D.C., had the highest average LOS at 6.1 days and 6.5 days, respectively.

If a 425-bed hospital lowered its average LOS by one day from 6 to 5 days, it could save $20 million in operating expenses over one year and gain about $20 million in additional margin by expanding its capacity to admit more patients, assuming an average margin of $4,500 per admission, according to Kaufman Hall. 

Full list is here.

About Medicare Cost Reports

There are often two widespread, often incorrect beliefs about Medicare Cost Reports.

First is the terminology.  “Medicare” cost reporting makes it sound as if it only covers Medicare patients. This is not accurate. For most of the key worksheets — there are several dozen — the data generally covers services for all patients. Only fairly late in the cost report calculations that Medicare costs are determined.

Continue reading “About Medicare Cost Reports”