Hospitals

The 2,600 hospitals in the US provide acute care and surgeries for patients on either a scheduled or emergency basis. Most hospitals are considered community hospitals, and are operated by non-profit, for-profit, or state or local government organizations.

Conflict with Insurers

While hospitals depend on private insurers for revenue, both groups struggle to agree on how best to treat patients.

Labor Shortages

Hospitals struggle with shortages of nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists, and other clinical workers.

Sep 8, 2026 - Hospitals Pursue M&A Deals To Survive Federal Funding Cuts

• Merger and acquisition brokers are seeing an uptick in interest from hospitals as health system leaders prepare for a projected shortfall in federal funding, according to STAT news. Large systems are increasingly getting calls from smaller ones looking for a partner. The number of deal announcements has been increasing since the passage of the Medicaid cuts in the Trump administration’s 2025 tax bill. The dynamic could change the landscape of providers and the balance of power in the US health system and make care more expensive and harder to reach for patients nationwide if the larger systems choose to offer some services in fewer locations, according to STAT. Care could also become more expensive and even harder to reach if a hospital shut down entirely, however.
• Ransomware attacks on health care organizations increased 14% year over year during the first six months of 2026, according to technology research firm Comparitech. Of the reported incidents, 247 targeted hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers, while 163 affected healthcare businesses, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical billing firms, and health technology companies. Attacks against providers increased about 3% from the previous six-month period while attacks on healthcare businesses climbed nearly 35%.
• Fewer than half of Americans (49%) can consistently afford the care and medications they need, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index. Hospitals may be negatively impacted by decreasing health care affordability. The share of adults who are “cost secure” has decreased from a 2022 peak of 61%, and an estimated 2.8 million more people fell out of that category between 2024 and 2025 alone. Cost insecurity now reaches groups long considered insulated: just 61% of adults 65 and older are cost secure, down from 73% in 2021.
• The Producer Price Index for general medical and surgical hospitals increased 3.46% year over year in July, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (BLS). Hospital industry employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first six months of 2026, according to the BLS.

Industry size & Structure

The average hospital employs about 2,000 workers and generates $491 million in annual revenue.

• There are about 2,600 hospital firms in the US with about $1.3 trillion in annual revenue and employing 5.1million people.
• Most hospitals are considered community hospitals, and are operated by non-profit, for-profit, or state or local government organizations.
• A typical hospital has 100 to 300 beds and serves 5,800 to 11,200 patients annually.
• The largest US hospital companies include Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Adventist Health, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.
• The average length of stay in a hospital is 4-5 days.
• Hospital occupancy averaged about 75% in 2023 and 2024, up from the average 64% capacity during the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The majority of hospital employees are dedicated to patient care (doctors, nurses, aides and clinical workers). Other professions within a hospital are office/administrative support, cleaning and maintenance, management, food service, and community and social services.