Taking a closer look at St. Louis-area hospitals’ profits

St. Louis-area hospitals reported profits of more than $318 million in 2005, according to the city's Business Health Coalition most recent annual report on the region's healthcare industry. St. Louis hospitals' average cost per patient stay increased 10% a year between 2003 and 2005, almost four times the rate of inflation, according to the findings. According to the coalition, the cost of unnecessary building projects is being reflected in price increases to patients and insurers. Hospitals see it differently, notes St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Mary Jo Feldstein.