January 9, 2024- The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) released an update to its Hospital Cost Tool to include 2022 data and new metrics on hospital labor expenses. As a result, users of this publicly available tool can access data on hospital costs such as operating profit margins, cost to charge ratios, breakeven points, and more for approximately 4,600 hospitals for 2011 through 2022.
As health care expenditures rise with the largest proportion of spending consistently on hospital care, state leaders are seeking assistance to understand and better address these high and rising prices and related costs. The hospital cost tool was developed as part of NASHP’s Center for Health System Costs, which is focused on supporting states to achieve increased affordability to ensure consumers have access to comprehensive, high quality health care.
States that are actively using the Hospital Cost Tool to inform state policymaking efforts include Texas, Indiana, and Rhode Island