California hospices: cost per patient day, margin and Medicare share from 1,184 cost reports
1,184 freestanding hospices in California filed a usable FY2025 Medicare cost report (27 nonprofit). Median total expenses $207.59 per patient day against revenue of $218.06; median net margin 4.2%, with 32.2% reporting a loss. Median Medicare share of patient days 94.8%.
Source: CMS HCRIS hospice cost report public use files (Form CMS-1984-14, public domain), FY2025 file, one latest usable report per CCN; universe = freestanding hospices with a usable Medicare cost report in the FY2025 file; fiscal years ending 2025-03-13 to 2026-06-30. Medians over hospices with plausible per-day figures (cost per day USD 40-1,000 and net margin within ±60%; the rest are counted but excluded from medians as likely reporting-unit errors). Per-day figures divide Worksheet F-2 totals by S-1 total patient days; cost shares come from Worksheet A column 7 over line 100. Data as of 2026-11-09.
Medians here (bar) vs all 4,558 hospices nationally (mark):
| Metric | Median | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hospices in the file | 1,184 | |
| With plausible per-day figures (medians below) | 1,126 | cost/day USD 40-1,000 and |margin| ≤ 60% |
| Nonprofit | 27 | |
| Median patient days | 7,554 | |
| Total revenue per patient day | $218.06 | |
| Total expenses per patient day | $207.59 | quartiles $177.00 – $242.00 |
| Net margin | 4.2% | quartiles -2.4% – 12.4% |
| Reporting a net loss | 32.2% | |
| Medicare share of patient days | 94.8% | |
| Routine home care share of days | 99.9% | |
| Salaries % of total cost | 34.5% | Worksheet A |
| RN + LPN + NP cost % of total | 18.6% | |
| Hospice aide cost % of total | 4.1% | |
| Administrative & general % of total cost | 42.1% | line 4, before step-down |
| General service cost centres % of total | 60.9% | lines 1-16 |
| Pharmacy + drugs per patient day | $5.87 |
By size band in California
Bands with 10 or more hospices link to a page with the full table and the free lookup.
| Band (total patient days) | Hospices | Cost / day | Revenue / day | Margin | At a loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 5,000 patient days | 405 | $210.89 | $220.06 | 2.5% | 42.3% |
| 5,000-20,000 patient days | 594 | $201.67 | $212.70 | 4.2% | 29.0% |
| 20,000-60,000 patient days | 145 | $225.81 | $240.38 | 6.3% | 25.7% |
| 60,000+ patient days | 40 | $231.99 | $277.25 | 11.3% | 10.5% |
Where your hospice sits
Type your CCN or name: your cost and revenue per day, margin and Medicare share against these California medians, free, in your browser. The USD 99 report then names the 10 peers closest to you in California.
The paid report
USD 99, one time: a California hospice vs the 10 closest named freestanding hospices (same state and patient-day band, nearest by days; census region or national pool stated when the state has fewer than 10): revenue and cost per patient day, net margin, Medicare and Medicaid day share, level-of-care mix, salary / nursing / aide / administrative / general-service shares of cost, drugs and DME per day, advertising share, each with your percentile in the full pool, and a Care Compare link per peer. Emailed within 1 business day. One free re-run within 14 days if a peer does not fit.
Get the report — USD 99 With 5-year trend — USD 149
USD 149 adds the five-year trend page: your hospice each cost-report year FY2020-2025 against that year's state median in your band, plus the Care Compare listing details. Full refund if no peer group can be formed. See the real sample.
Other states
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