By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette
Nearly 70% of Colorado hospitals ended 2024 with “unsustainable” margins, according to a new financial report from the Colorado Hospital Association.
Tom Rennell, the group’s senior vice president of financial policy and data analytics, said hospitals’ expenses are outpacing their revenue, as an increasing number of Colorado patients are losing their insurance coverage, partially due to the post-pandemic Medicaid unwind.
“Over the last several years since the COVID times and through the high inflationary times, hospitals have been experiencing some significant econmic turbulence,” Rennell said. “We don’t have the full picture yet, but I can tell you that what we’re seeing so far in 2025 is that there has been even more of a deterioration as expenses are up higher than revenue.”
The report said rural hospitals have it even worse: More than 80% were unable to achieve sustainable margins, a 12-point increase since 2019.
Given the hospitals’ fiscal predicament, the association said policymakers should review Colorado’s regulatory structure to shed laws or rules that are unnecessary.
“In this era where resources are so constrained, I think we would say, ‘Let’s look at some of the policies that have been put in place and some of the regulations that have been put in place and see if those don’t need to be in place anymore, whether they’re more administrative or they’re not leading to patient care improvements,’” he said.
The association’s report said hospital expenses went up by 52% since 2019, while revenue only increased by 39%.
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