Giving Compass' Take:

• Nonprofit Quarterly reports on Lancaster County Hospital in Pennsylvania, a for-profit regional facility that anticipates surpluses, even after a merger to become a nonprofit. Is that a problem?

• This piece argues that such fiscal efficiency should be seen as a benefit overall, but there's a concern that such healthcare providers are not engaging with the community enough to address needs.

• Here's how micro-hospitals can help health systems think small.

What’s the difference between 5.15 percent and 13.6 percent? It’s the difference between the average percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ operating margin in 2017 and that of the operating margins of Lancaster County hospitals. But is this a problem or is it a sign of nonprofits doing their job and having sound business models?

According to Heather Stauffer of LNP Online, “Industry experts say every situation is different, but hospitals generally need an operating surplus of four to six percent to maintain financial stability. In Lancaster County and the surrounding region, four of five hospitals in the last fiscal year had operating margins roughly twice that high.”

For-profit regional hospitals, including Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center (now UPMC Pinnacle Lititz) and Lancaster Regional Medical Center (now UPMC Pinnacle Lancaster), each had surpluses in excess of 10 percent. Since they became nonprofits in the last fiscal year when they merged to form UPMC, it is not anticipated that their operating margins will decline.

Lancaster General Health (LGH) has the advantage of leveraging a partnership with Penn Medicine. The problem is the question raised: Wouldn’t LGH’s fiscal responsibility be a significant contribution to the health of the community, creating value-based services?

Read the full article about for-profit regional hospital surpluses by Meredith Betz at nonprofitquarterly.org.