Many hospitals in the United States raked in more money during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, partially due to an infusion of funds from the federal government, according to a new study.
About three-quarters of the hospitals analyzed by researchers had a positive net operating income in 2020 and 2021. That was up about 12 percent from before the pandemic.
The researchers also found that 68 percent of the hospitals recorded an improvement in the net operating income from before the pandemic, with a median change of $4.4 million.
The moneymaking grew so much that some hospitals hit peak operating margins or historic profitability….