Margin Today, Margin Tomorrow?

"What services have a margin?" That question is one of the 'must answer' questions in developing a strategic plan that is focused on long-term financial sustainability. But right now there is some confusion about the answer to that question.

The confusion about profits and losses is borne out of two years of the pandemic and the resulting health emergencies. Over the past two years, there has been a massive increase in federal health care spending–almost $200 billion in 2020 alone to provider organizations for the Provider Relief Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program (see What Inflation?). In 2021 . . .