“Margins have begun to recover, but they’re not where they were pre-pandemic,” said Matt Wolf, director and healthcare senior analyst at the consultancy RSM US.

Growth in patient volumes and decreasing reliance on contract labor have helped systems’ finances to some extent. New pressures could emerge, however, as more services move to the outpatient sphere and to patients’ homes.

“Payers like it, patients like it and volumes will continue to move in this direction,” Wolf said.