HealthDay Reports: Layoffs and Losses — COVID-19 Leaves US Hospitals in Financial Crisis
Fewer elective procedures, increased PPE costs and other issues associated with COVID-19 in the United States have financially hit hospitals and health care companies across the country.
Layoffs and Losses: COVID-19 Leaves U.S. Hospitals in Financial Crisis
WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has done untold economic damage in the United States, with businesses shuttering and people self-isolating at home to try to slow the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.
You might think hospitals and health care systems would be immune to this wave of financial ruin, since there's no industry more crucial to America's fight against the pandemic.
You'd be wrong.
The health care industry experienced an estimated $500 billion reduction in revenue during the first quarter of 2020, said Dr. David Shulkin, a former secretary of Veterans Affairs and former president and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.
"There's no doubt our hospitals, health systems, health care providers in general have taken a significant financial hit during this crisis," Shulkin said during a HealthDay Live Stream interview. "In general, the average hospital has seen about a 40% to 45% decrease in operating revenue during this period of time."
Read the full HealthDay story.