Hospitals are not crumbling, Medicare experts tell Congress

Hospitals’ financial situations are not nearly as dire as industry groups are making them out to be, Medicare policy experts are telling Congress.

Profit margins hit all-time highs in 2021, and almost $200 billion of taxpayer subsidies provided hospitals with ample cushion to get through the worst of the pandemic, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said in its newest report.

“Federal relief funds and increased Medicare payments more than offset pandemic-induced costs,” MedPAC officials wrote.

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