North Carolina Hospital Systems Enjoyed Record Profits During Pandemic Transferring More Wealth from Citizens to Themselves
The North Carolina State Health Plan and the National Academy for State Health Policy Find that North Carolina’s Seven Largest Hospital Systems Reaped Billions of Dollars in Cash, Investments and Profits After Taking COVID Relief
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“The federal government channeled taxpayers’ money to profitable and powerful hospitals, which did not need the money in the first place,” Bai said. “These hospitals use these windfall profits to strengthen market power, so that they can squeeze higher prices from private payers and lobby for more government handouts. American taxpayers are hit by a double whammy.”
- After taking taxpayer-funded COVID relief dollars, North Carolina’s seven large hospital systems reaped $7.1 billion of growth in cash and financial investments from 2019 to 2021.
- They recorded $5.2 billion in net profits in 2021, when six hospital systems enjoyed higher net profits than in the years before the pandemic.
- Duke Health made a 41% net profit margin of $1.8 billion in 2021. Its net profit margin was 11% in 2019.
- Atrium Health took the most taxpayer relief dollars, collecting $589 million in COVID relief and another $438 million in Medicare advance payments. Atrium Health then made a $1.7 billion net profit after its merger with Wake Forest Baptist Health in 2021.
- They recorded $5.2 billion in net profits in 2021, when six hospital systems enjoyed higher net profits than in the years before the pandemic.
- Seven systems took $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded coronavirus relief meant for struggling hospitals, as well as another $1.6 billion in Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments from 2020-2021.
