Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, against 7.5% for total hospital expenses, AHA reports from Strata Decision Technology benchmark data.
13.6%
growth in US hospital drug expenses in 2025
Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, against 7.5% for total hospital expenses, AHA reports from Strata Decision Technology benchmark data.
Source: Costs of Caring 2026 (opens in a new tab), Page 6, High Cost of Medicines; page 2, What's Driving Hospital Spending in 2025. Verified October 2026.
Related charts
- 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) - 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 the blog
Hopkins assigned ED patients a bed 30% faster after opening a command center
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Capacity Command Center news release (October 2016) - 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)
Sources for the figures above: American Hospital Association, Costs of Caring 2026 (March 2026) (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); The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release) (opens in a new tab); American Hospital Association, Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges issue brief (December 2022) (opens in a new tab).
Related facts
3,567
of 5,121 US community hospitals belong to a health system of any size
3,567 of the 5,121 US community hospitals belonged to a health system of any size in the 2024 AHA Annual Survey, and 1,797 were rural, AHA's 2026 Fast Facts reports. The two counts overlap, because some rural hospitals also belong to a system.
Source: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026.
KentApplied46%
of nursing staff turned over in 12 months at the median skilled nursing facility
The 12-month rate of nursing staff turnover as of 2024 was 46% for the median skilled nursing facility, MedPAC reported in March 2026.
Source: March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 7: Skilled nursing facility services.
KentApplied41.2%
of US rural hospitals operate in the red
41.2% of US rural hospitals operate in the red, and the median rural hospital's operating margin is 2.0%, Chartis reported in its 2026 study of rural hospitals.
Source: 2026 Rural Health State of the State.
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026 (opens in a new tab); March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 7: Skilled nursing facility services (opens in a new tab); 2026 Rural Health State of the State (opens in a new tab).
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