While patient volumes have largely recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures and a hot labor market have driven up operating costs for nonprofit health systems, causing median expense growth to outpace median revenue growth in fiscal year 2023, according to Fitch.
The rise in healthcare provider costs contrasts with other services industries, where the services producer price index — an indicator that tracks price trends in the services sector — has steadily declined since 2022 highs.
