Post-COVID trends in hospital financial performance: updated data from California paint an improved but challenging picture for hospitals and commercially insured patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to the operation and financing of US acute care hospitals. Previous research has documented early effects of the COVID pandemic on hospital financial performance. This paper updates the literature with current data on utilization and financial performance for a large sample of California hospitals covering the period 2017 through the end of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

Utilisation, out-of-pocket payments and access before and after COVID-19: Thailand's Universal Health Coverage Scheme.

The goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is that everyone needing healthcare can access quality services without financial hardship. Recent research covering countries with UHC systems documents the emergence, and acceleration following the COVID-19 pandemic of unapproved informal payment systems by providers that collect under-the-table payments from patients. In 2001, Thailand extended its '30 Baht' government-financed coverage to all uninsured people with little or no cost sharing.

Trauma Center Hospitals Charged Higher Prices For Some Nontrauma Care Than Non-Trauma Center Hospitals, 2012-18.

Rising prices are a major cause of increased health care spending and health insurance premiums in the US. Hospital prices, specifically-for both inpatient and outpatient care-are the largest driver of rising health care spending in the commercial insurance market. As a result, policy makers and employers are increasingly interested in understanding the determinants of hospital prices.

COVID-19 driven decline in emergency visits: Has it continued, is it permanent, and what does it mean for emergency physicians?

Introduction: Hospital-based emergency departments have been a sustained source of overall hospital utilization in the United States. In 2019, an estimated 150 million hospital-based emergency department (ED) visits occurred in the United States, up from 90 million in 1993, 108 million in 2000 and 137 million in 2015. This study analyzes hospital ED visit registration data pre and post to the COVID-19 pandemic describe the impact of on hospital ED utilization and to assess long-term implications of COVID and other factors on the utilization of hospital-based emergency services.