California hospices with under 5,000 patient days: cost per day, margin and cost shares vs 364 peers
405 freestanding hospices in California with under 5,000 patient days filed a usable FY2025 cost report. Their median total expenses are $210.89 per patient day (quartiles $177.80 to $252.20) against revenue of $220.06; median net margin 2.5% and 42.3% reported a loss. Salaries are 28.6% of total cost at the median, direct nursing 16.6%, administrative and general 48.2%.
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 under 5,000 patient days hospices nationally (mark):
| Metric | Median | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hospices in the file | 405 | |
| With plausible per-day figures (medians below) | 364 | cost/day USD 40-1,000 and |margin| ≤ 60% |
| Nonprofit | 2 | |
| Median patient days | 2,989 | |
| Total revenue per patient day | $220.06 | |
| Total expenses per patient day | $210.89 | quartiles $177.80 – $252.20 |
| Net margin | 2.5% | quartiles -6.5% – 11.0% |
| Reporting a net loss | 42.3% | |
| Medicare share of patient days | 98.3% | |
| Routine home care share of days | 99.9% | |
| Salaries % of total cost | 28.6% | Worksheet A |
| RN + LPN + NP cost % of total | 16.6% | |
| Hospice aide cost % of total | 3.4% | |
| Administrative & general % of total cost | 48.2% | line 4, before step-down |
| General service cost centres % of total | 65.0% | lines 1-16 |
| Pharmacy + drugs per patient day | $5.25 |
Where your hospice sits
Type your CCN or name: your figures against these 364 California hospices, free, in your browser (the CCN is never sent to us). The USD 99 report then names the 10 closest.
The paid report
USD 99, one time: a California hospice with under 5,000 patient days 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.
Under 5,000 patient days in other states
Arizona (28) · Georgia (25) · Illinois (20) · Indiana (12) · Michigan (16) · Missouri (14) · Nevada (30) · New Mexico (12) · Ohio (15) · Oklahoma (10) · Pennsylvania (11) · Texas (170) · Utah (10)
Other bands in California
5,000-20,000 patient days (594) · 20,000-60,000 patient days (145) · 60,000+ patient days (40)