Pandemic sparked cost surge in hospital stays

The pandemic appears to have produced a demand for more expensive stays in public hospitals. Covid-19’s first year disrupted a period of hospital operating expense control by boosting costs by up to 28.4% per hospital day, according to the key findings of a study for the analysis of the financial dimensions of public hospitals of Greece that was carried out by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

Analyzing the available financial data found in the accounting statements of public hospitals, the study was based on a sample of about 90 hospitals per year for the period 2012-2020 for which data was found.

Smaller hospitals are most affected by this trend since they cannot attain economies of scale due to their size. The operating cost per hospital day for hospitals with up to 100 beds was three times that of hospitals with more than 400 beds in 2020 (€1,853 versus €617).