HANYS found that 52 New York hospitals reported about 60,000 discharge delay days and $169 million in estimated costs from April to June 2022.
$169M
estimated cost of discharge delays at 52 hospitals in one quarter
HANYS found that 52 New York hospitals reported about 60,000 discharge delay days and $169 million in estimated costs from April to June 2022.
The pilot counted 1,115 patients who waited more than 4 days in the ED or more than 14 days on an inpatient unit after they were ready to leave.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state (opens in a new tab), Executive summary, p. 1. Verified October 2026.
Related charts
- From the blog
Finding a place that would take the patient caused the most discharge delay days
HANYS, The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state (2023) - From the blog
Length of stay rose most for patients going to psychiatric hospitals or skilled nursing
American Hospital Association, Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges issue brief (December 2022) - From the blog
A boarded med-surg stroke patient cost nearly twice as much a day as one on a ward
Canellas et al., Annals of Emergency Medicine, vol. 84 (2024) - From research
Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, nearly twice as fast as total expenses
American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026)
Sources for the figures above: HANYS, The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state (2023) (opens in a new tab); American Hospital Association, Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges issue brief (December 2022) (opens in a new tab); Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4) (opens in a new tab); American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) (opens in a new tab).
Related facts
$2,800
estimated cost per inpatient delay day
Kent Applied divided the $167 million in estimated inpatient costs by the 58,710 inpatient delay days in the Healthcare Association of New York State's 2022 pilot survey, which puts one inpatient discharge delay day at about $2,800.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state.
KentApplied35,625
inpatient delay days where finding the patient's next place of care was a cause
In HANYS's 2022 pilot, finding a placement setting, somewhere for the patient to go after the hospital, was a cause in 35,625 inpatient discharge delay days, more than any other cause.
Source: The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state.
KentApplied19.2%
rise in average length of stay, 2019 to 2022
Average hospital length of stay rose 19.2% from 2019 to 2022, according to Strata Decision Technology data published by the American Hospital Association.
Source: Patients and Providers Faced with Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges (issue brief).
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: HANYS, The scope of complex case discharge delays in New York state (2023) (opens in a new tab); American Hospital Association, Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges issue brief (December 2022) (opens in a new tab).
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