Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
February 02, 2018 11:00 PM

Hospitals facing financial hit as flu season continues to worsen

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    One of the most severe flu seasons over the past decade could result in financial strain rather than a revenue generator for healthcare providers as they see an influx of patients.

    Widespread flu activity occurred in 49 states as of Jan. 20, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And throughout the country, there have been reports of higher than normal rates of hospitalizations related to cases of the virus.

    There were nearly 42 hospital admissions for every 100,000 people in the U.S. at the end of the third week of 2018, according to the most recent CDC figures. That's more than double the rate from the past two flu seasons and is the second-highest in the past 10 seasons. As of late Friday afternoon, the flu had killed 53 children in the U.S. this season.

    The Takeaway

    In the middle of one of the heaviest flu seasons in years, hospitals must contend with both financial and clinical challenges.

    The surge has left many hospitals overwhelmed, forcing some to set up triage tents outside of emergency departments. Others have resorted to emergency protocols such as postponing elective surgeries and limiting the number of visitors. Such activity is likely to hurt the bottom line, even though volume is increasing.

    "Medical admissions tend to reimburse at lower rates than surgical admissions," said Daniel Steingart, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service. He recently co-authored an investment note that found while increased volume usually results in a net positive for providers, having an increase of patients with lower-acuity ailments such as the flu often results in hospitals incurring a net loss for their treatment.

    Steingart said minimizing the length of stay of low-acuity care patients is crucial toward managing expenses related to their treatment. But the severity of this year's flu season could lead to longer hospital stays.

    flu season

    The financial impact can depend heavily on the type of strain most predominant during a flu season. More than 11,000 lab-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported from Oct. 1 to Jan. 20, according to the CDC; more than 88% of those cases involved the H3N2 strain. H3N2 tends to affect older adults, who are more likely than other age groups to have existing health conditions that complicate treatment and make it more expensive.

    "This is the more difficult type of flu season," said Dr. John Segreti, an infectious disease specialist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

    Since 2009, Rush has conducted year-round planning for every flu season, which has helped mitigate its burden, Segreti said. Still, Rush has experienced increases in flu-related hospital admissions the past several weeks. Segreti was unclear as to the overall economic burden this year's season will put on Rush, but acknowledged caring for older patients is often more resource-intensive. "If they get sick, they tend to be in the hospital longer and more likely to be in the intensive-care unit," he said.

    The CDC estimates 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu each year at a cost of $10.4 billion a year in direct medical expenses.

    Steingart said the costs of treating flu patients often come from other challenges that go beyond reimbursement. A surge in such patients requires hospitals to increase overtime pay and can cause supply shortages. Another problem lies with the inefficiencies a surge in flu patients creates since many first visit the emergency department, creating longer wait times.

    Surge capacity was discussed during a Senate health committee hearing last month, when Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told lawmakers that the nation's hospital system doesn't have the capacity to handle a large-scale flu epidemic. "They are simply not equipped for those larger events, and they are living too close to the margins with just-in-time inventories to be able to surge," Inglesby told lawmakers Jan. 23.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    diversity
    Health equity execs leveraging academic roles to drive long-term change
    Patrick Blair InnovAge
    PACE could expand amid possible nursing home closures: InnovAge CEO
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing