The federal budget deficit was $622 billion for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2016, CBO estimates—$92 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year.
CBO’s analysis found that hospitals’ profit margins could decline by 2025. Whether hospitals could respond to those financial pressures in ways that maintain their profitability is unclear, highlighting the need for more research.
CBO released a paper calculating hospitals’ profit margins in 2025 under several illustrative scenarios. Although hospitals could face greater financial pressure, the evidence was not sufficient to assess how hospitals might respond.
CBO compares its economic forecast, as presented in An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2016 to 2026, with historical experience and discusses why economic growth in coming years is projected to diverge from historical trends.
