More than 20 hospitals have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy since 2016, according to an Oct. 30 report from the law firm Polsinelli.
The Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices Report details how healthcare trends have affected the U.S. economy. Researchers determined that while the economy, specifically Chapter 11 bankruptcies across all industries and the real estate industry, have remained stable during the past several quarters, healthcare exhibited consistently high levels of distress during eight of the last 11 quarters.
To compile the report, researchers use Chapter 11 bankruptcy data as a proxy for measuring financial distress in the overall U.S. economy and breakdowns of distress specifically in real estate and healthcare.
Here are three things to know from the report:
1. Southwestern states have been hit the hardest by healthcare bankruptcy filings. For example, increased competition, insurance payer pressure and overexpansion contributed to Neighbors Legacy Holdings in Houston, a freestanding emergency facility operator with more than 30 facilities, to file for bankruptcy earlier this year.
2. While general Chapter 11 bankruptcies have decreased 53 percent from the 2010 benchmark, healthcare industry distress increased by 305 percent during the same period.
3. The law firm's Health Care Services Distress Research Index was 405 for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 65 points from the second quarter of 2018. The third-quarter figures represent a year-over-year increase of 82 points.
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