10 Things to Know About Hospitals

1. Hospitals of all types have provided patients with more than $459 billion in uncompensated care – no payment was received from the patient or insurer – since 2000. American Hospital Association, in a January 2015 update
2. There were 5,686 hospitals registered with the American Hospital Association in 2013, the latest year for which data is available from the AHA. That number includes both AHA members and non-members. —American Hospital Association
3. Hospitals directly employed nearly 5.6 million people in 2013 and are the second largest source of private sector jobs. —American Hospital Association
4. For 2015, the projected loss rate for hospital professional liability is $2,870 per occupied bed equivalent (OBE). The frequency of claims is projected to be 1.69 percent per OBE and claims severity is expected to be $170,000 per claim. —Aon/ASHRM (American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association) Hospital Professional Liability Benchmark 2015
5. The projected loss rate for hospital general liability is $125 per OBE and the average general liability claim is expected to be $38,000 for claims occurring in 2015. —Aon/ASHRM Hospital Professional Liability Benchmark 2015
6. Children’s hospitals and teaching hospitals generally have higher loss severities than the national average. The cost of providing medical care over a child’s lifetime is a possible contributing factor in loss severities of children’s hospital. The higher risk associated with the complex care provided by teaching hospitals can be attributed to loss severities at those facilities. —Zurich Benchmark Study of Hospital Professional Liability Claims, Fall 2014
7. Hospital facilities in urban areas tend to have higher claim severities than those in rural and suburban locations. —Zurich Benchmark Study of Hospital Professional Liability Claims, Fall 2014
8. Hospital claims frequency has stabilized in recent years but frequency levels may continue to vary by state or location. “Closed-no-pay” (CNP) claims have remained steady since 2007 while average claims severity has increased steadily since 2006. —Zurich Benchmark Study of Hospital Professional Liability Claims, Fall 2014
9. Around 440,000 people die annually due to hospital errors, injuries, accidents and infections. —Hospital Safety Score/Leapfrog Group
10. Maine is the state with the highest percentage of A-ranked (safest) hospitals; 61.1 percent, or 11, of the 18 hospitals surveyed in Maine qualified for the A ranking, the best hospital safety score given by the Hospital Safety Score survey. Alaska, District of Columbia and North Dakota tied for last place in terms of the number of hospitals ranked A. No hospitals in those jurisdictions achieved the highest safety ranking. —Hospital Safety Score/Leapfrog Group