Washington hospitals face mounting financial pressure, forcing widespread cuts
Struggling to sustain their financial health, hospitals in Washington continue to trim costs.
Washington hospitals have cumulatively absorbed more than $4.9 billion in operating losses over the last four years, according to data from the Washington State Hospital Association. In 2024, the shortfall was $402 million.
“It’s challenging now, but the future looks worse,” WSHA Chief Financial Officer Eric Lewis told the Business Journal. “Organizations are going to have to make decisions they don’t want to make around access because they don’t have enough money to keep them open. It’s pretty severe.”
Steadily rising administrative costs in conjunction with inadequate reimbursement have dried up liquidity. Last year, only 11.2% of the hospitals in the state had the cash on hand to cover their operating expenses for at least 200 days. In 2019, a quarter of Washington hospitals had that level of cash reserves. The number of hospitals with fewer than 120 days of cash grew by 37% between 2019 and 2024.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/07/10/hospital-layoffs-losses-cash-reserves.html
Medicaid cuts should exacerbate the problem.