SNAPShots

SNAPShots

PHC4 Reports on Common Procedures

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has published a new report detailing hospital performance on four common surgical procedures:  knee replacement, hip replacement, spinal fusion, and coronary artery bypass graft.

The report details individual hospital performance on these procedures, including in-hospital mortality, complications, and extended post-operative length of stay.  In addition, it breaks down hospital performance for all of these measures and all of these procedures based on patient age, income, gender, geographic location, and race and ethnicity.

The PHC4 report also reveals how many of these procedures individual hospitals performed and how much they charged for their services.

Learn more in the new PHC4 publication Common Procedures Report.

2019-08-13T06:00:07+00:00August 13th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Reports on Common Procedures

PHC4 Reports on PA Hospital Financial Performance

Pennsylvania hospitals’ financial performance in 2018 was mixed, according to a new analysis by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

According to PHC4,

  • uncompensated care declined two percent
  • total margins fell 0.05 percentage points
  • operating margins declined 0.39 percentage points
  • net patient revenue rose 3.9 percent
  • discharges fell 1.2 percent
  • inpatient days fell 0.3 percent

Learn more about the 2018 financial performance of acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania, including data for every such hospital in the state and measures such as payer mix, in the PHC4 report Financial Analysis 2018:  General Acute Care Hospitals

2019-05-23T06:00:24+00:00May 23rd, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Reports on PA Hospital Financial Performance

Diabetes Admissions Up in PA

Hospital admissions for diabetes rose 13 percent in Pennsylvania between 2000 and 2016.  While admissions among older Pennsylvanians declined, the rate for younger people under the age of 45 increased 38 percent over that period of time.
Diabetes admissions in Pennsylvania resulted in $205 million in payments to hospitals in 2016, but according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, about 86 percent of 2016 adult admissions could have been prevented with more timely and appropriate care and disease management.
Learn more about the prevalence of diabetes admissions in Pennsylvania in the new PHC4 research brief
“Pennsylvania Hospital Admissions for Diabetes,” which can be found here.

2017-11-23T06:00:14+00:00November 23rd, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Diabetes Admissions Up in PA

PHC4 Looks at “Super-Utilizers”

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has released a new research brief on so-called super-utilizers:  a small portion of the population that consumes an inordinate amount of health care.  Super-utilizers are defined as individuals with five or more hospital admissions a year.
According to the PHC4 report,

  • Three percent of hospitalized patients accounted for 10 percent of hospital payments, or $1.25 billion, in 2016.
  • Super-utilizers accounted for three percent of hospitalized patients, 10 percent of hospital payments, 12 percent of hospital admissions, and 15 percent of hospital days.
  • 46 percent of that care was paid for by Medicare, 19 percent by Medicaid, and 19 percent was for dually eligible patients.
  • The top three reasons for admissions among super-utilizers were sepsis, heart failure, and mental health disorders.
  • Diabetes and alcohol and substance abuse disorders were among the leading causes of admission for Medicaid patients.
  • The highest rates of super-utilizers were among blacks, low-income individuals, and older people.

The PHC4 report breaks down super-utilizers by county and shows the reasons for super-utilizers’ hospital admissions.  Its side-by-side comparison of 2012 and 2016 shows a decline in super-utilizer admissions to hospitals, perhaps because of efforts by hospitals to reduce admissions and avoid Medicare penalties for avoidable hospital readmissions.
Go here to find the PHC4 report Pennsylvania’s “Super-Utilizers” of Hospital Care.

2017-06-21T11:29:59+00:00June 21st, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Looks at “Super-Utilizers”

Financial Performance Strong at PA Non-General Acute Hospitals

For non-general acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania, FY 2015 was generally a good year.
Long-term acute-care hospitals saw their average operating margins rise from 5.24 percent to 8.04 percent.
Operating margins for rehabilitation hospitals rose from 12.7 percent to 12.87 percent.
phc4And while operating margins for psychiatric and specialty hospitals declined, they still remain generally strong at 8.81 percent and 7.78 percent, respectfully.
Learn more about the financial performance of non-acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania in Financial Analysis 2015: An Annual Report on the Financial Health of Pennsylvania Non-GAC Hospitals, a new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

2016-11-28T06:00:44+00:00November 28th, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Financial Performance Strong at PA Non-General Acute Hospitals

PA Hospitals Reducing Readmissions, Mortality

Pennsylvania hospitals have seen a state-wide decrease in their mortality and readmission rates, according to new data released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Commission.
phc4According to the new numbers, which cover hospital performance from January 1 through September 30 of 2015, hospital mortality rates fell for ten of the 16 conditions PHC4 tracks while readmissions fell for nine of the 13 conditions for which the agency collects data.
PHC4 estimates that this improved performance saved 3900 lives and avoided 2700 hospital readmissions.
For a closer look at the data PHC4 collected, the conditions it tracked, and a hospital-by-hospital, region-by-region, and state-wide look at hospital performance go here, to the PHC4 web site, to find a summary of the report, the news release that accompanied its publication, and three separate reports with all of the numbers and findings.

2016-10-21T06:00:42+00:00October 21st, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PA Hospitals Reducing Readmissions, Mortality

2015 Financial Performance Mixed for PA Hospitals

Most Pennsylvania acute-care hospitals fared well financially in 2015.
But not all of them.
According to a new report issued by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, total acute-care hospital margins fell 0.01 percentage points in 2015 but operating margins rose 1.21 percentage points.
49 of the state’s 170 acute-care hospitals lost money on operations and 46 lost money overall.
phc4Other highlights:

  • uncompensated care fell 8.6 percent
  • inpatient days declined for the eighth straight year
  • outpatient visits rose 2.5 percent
  • 53.7 percent of net patient revenue came from inpatient care

Go here for a news release summarizing PHC4’s finding and go here to see the complete report Financial Analysis 2015: An Annual Report on the Financial Health of Pennsylvania Hospitals, which includes state-wide analyses and performance data on individual hospitals.

2016-06-03T06:00:51+00:00June 3rd, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on 2015 Financial Performance Mixed for PA Hospitals

PHC4 Reports on Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

phc4The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has released a report on complications from hip and knee replacement procedures performed at Pennsylvania hospitals.
The analysis looks at more than 56,000 procedures performed in 2013, quantifying complications, lengthy hospital stays, readmissions, and more.
Find the PHC4 report here.

2016-04-21T09:35:49+00:00April 21st, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Reports on Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

PHC4 Reports on Hospital Performance

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) has issued a report that offers a wide range of statistics describing the performance and quality of care provided by the state’s acute-care hospitals.
phc4The report presents regional and hospital-by-hospital mortality and readmission rates for a wide variety of medical conditions, doing so on a regional basis.
It also tallies the volume of hospital patients according to medical conditions and describes who is paying for the different types of care hospitals are providing.
Go here to see the PHC4 report Hospital Performance Report: 2014 Data.
 

2015-12-18T06:00:37+00:00December 18th, 2015|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Reports on Hospital Performance

PHC4 Reports on Hospital Financial Performance

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) has released its annual report on the financial performance of the state’s acute-care hospitals.
Among the highlights (changes in performance are from 2013 to 2014):

  • The total margin of hospitals state-wide declined 0.36 percentage points, from 6.06 percent to 5.7 percent.
  • The operating income of acute-care hospitals fell from $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion.
  • Thirty-four percent of hospitals lose money on operations and 28 percent lost money overall.
  • Uncompensated care rose 2.2 percent, or $22 million, to $1.07 billion.
  • The number of hospital discharges and patient days declined.
  • The number of outpatient visits fell 3.2 percent.
  • Outpatient services accounted for 44.8 percent of net patient revenue.

To learn more about what PHC4 learned, see its new report Financial Analysis 2014:  Volume One:  General Acute Care Hospitals.

2015-05-22T06:00:44+00:00May 22nd, 2015|Uncategorized|Comments Off on PHC4 Reports on Hospital Financial Performance
Go to Top