Hospitals interested in subscribing to the HIDI Premier Report Package available on HIDI Advantage Analytics^® should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

Hospitals in Missouri are projected to receive an estimated payment decrease of 3.76% for services provided under the OPPS. Although footnoted, the analysis does not reflect the effects of the 2% sequestration. Hospitals have until Monday, Aug. 31, to review their hospital-specific data and submit comments regarding the proposed rule.

The report is based on information released on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Compare website for reporting periods 2022 through 2024. Policy and analytic studies, prepared for distribution by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, are available for download to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®. 

At its core, the survey is a statewide data engine. It captures the realities of hospital operations — from service lines and staffing to financial pressures and emerging technologies. What makes this survey truly valuable is what happens next: MHA transforms this information into advocacy that shapes Missouri’s health care landscape.

Turning Data Into Action

The Annual Licensing Survey gives MHA staff a comprehensive view of the challenges and opportunities facing Missouri hospitals. Your survey responses provide verified, statewide data that strengthens MHA’s advocacy efforts to shape reimbursement, regulatory policy and care delivery across Missouri in several critical ways:

• Legislative credibility — Lawmakers rely on accurate, statewide information to make decisions. The survey equips MHA with clear, evidence-based insights on issues like workforce shortages, behavioral health capacity and financial strain.
• Policy development — Trends identified in the survey help shape MHA’s policy priorities and guide recommendations to state leaders.
• Resource allocation — DHSS and other state partners use the data to understand utilization, capacity and community needs.
• Supporting materials — The survey powers MHA’s legislative guide, community investment reports and issue briefs that lawmakers depend on throughout the session.

Strengthening Missouri’s Voice Nationally

Because the survey is conducted in partnership with the American Hospital Association, Missouri’s data also contributes to national reporting and advocacy efforts. That means:

• Missouri hospitals are accurately represented in federal policy discussions.
• National ranking and reports reflect the true scope of care delivered in our state.
• Missouri's needs are visible in national debates on reimbursement, regulation and workforce.

 Strong data gives Missouri a strong voice at the national level.

Reducing Burden, Increasing Impact

One of the most important advocacy wins built into this process is efficiency. By consolidating data collection into a single annual survey, MHA reduces the number of requests hospitals receive throughout the year — from us, from DHSS and from AHA.

That means hospitals spend less time reporting and more time caring for patients. And because the data is standardized and comprehensive, it eliminates duplication and ensures every partner — state, federal, association — is working from the same trusted information.

Why This Matters for Missouri

Missouri’s hospitals are essential to the health and economic stability of its communities. To advocate effectively on their behalf, MHA needs more than anecdotes — we need a complete accurate picture of the hospital landscape. The Annual Licensing Survey provides MHA with the information necessary to help:

• protect hospital funding
• support workforce initiatives
• strengthen behavioral health services and resources
• improve access in rural communities
• guide regulatory modernization
• ensure Missouri remains competitive nationally

The Annual Licensing Survey may have started as a regulatory requirement, but its true value lies in what it makes possible: a stronger, more informed, more effective advocacy voice for Missouri hospitals. Your participation does more than meet a mandate — it ensures Missouri hospitals speak with a unified, data‑driven voice. That voice is essential to protecting funding, advancing shared policy priorities and strengthening access to care for communities across the state. 

Hospitals are required to complete the new calendar year 2025 occupational mix survey for the FFY 2028 wage index. Hospitals have until Tuesday, June 30, 2026, to submit to their MACs. The survey can be found here.

This is the only opportunity to request revisions to your data. Subsequent requests for revisions are limited to mishandling of the data. The files are available for review to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®.

The source for the financial information is the first-quarter 2026 Healthcare Cost Report Information System database, which includes the Medicare cost report data. MHA posted these files to HIDI Advantage^® for review.

Hospitals and community partners have a powerful opportunity to drive meaningful, data-informed changes by leveraging the exploreMOhealth platform alongside the MissouriHealthMatters.org dashboards.

Together, these tools redefine how organizations understand and improve community health by delivering hyperlocal insights at the ZIP code level by enabling precise identification of disparities in chronic conditions, nonclinical factors that affect an individual’s health and overall outcomes, and ensuring resources are directed where they will have the greatest impact.

By embedding these data assets into community health needs assessments, stakeholders can ground their priorities in real-world evidence, uncover inequities across populations, and design targeted, person-centered interventions that truly meet individuals where they are in their health journey.

At the same time, shared dashboards and dynamic visualizations strengthen cross-sector collaboration, empowering hospitals, public health agencies, and community organizations to align strategies, monitor progress, and amplify collective impact.

Ultimately, these platforms do more than inform; they transform complex data into compelling, actionable insights that inspire action, deepen partnerships and accelerate measurable improvements in community health. This approach closely aligns with Missouri’s Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH) Care model, where hubs can harness these tools to build robust, data-driven needs assessments that guide coordinated, strategic and community-centered efforts.

This report is located on HIDI Advantage^® in the Advantage Analytics/Premier Subscriptions/Stand-Alone Premier Reports folder with the following file name: MO0000_2026_Hospital_Profiles_2026.06.04.zip.

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the HIDI Premier Reporting Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

The databases consist of a patient-level limited dataset, including all HIDI-reported discharges and visits to hospitals. The files are located in “Premier Subscriptions/Inpatient and Outpatient Limited Datasets” and are organized in the following categories.

• Q2 FFY 2026, Inpatient
• Q2 FFY 2026, Outpatient Classified
• Q2 FFY 2026, Outpatient Unclassified

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the 2026 HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

Hospitals can review their hospital-specific data and submit correction requests to CMS and the Medicare Administrative Contractor through Friday, May 29. Corrections can only be made if it can be shown that CMS or the MAC mishandled the final wage data posted in the April 30 public use files. May 29 also is the deadline to dispute data corrections made by CMS of which the hospital was notified between March 21 and May 15.

The analysis includes financial effects of market basket updates, market basket reductions mandated by the Affordable Care Act, budget neutrality adjustments, wage index updates, MS-LTC-DRG updates and effects of the site-neutral payment reductions.

Results are illustrated in national, Missouri, health system and individual hospital groupings. In aggregate, the state will see an estimated increase of 3.16% for services paid under the LTCH PPS. Although footnoted, the effects of the Medicare sequestration are not included.

The analysis includes the financial effects of market basket updates, reductions mandated by the Affordable Care Act, coding adjustments, quality-based payment adjustments and changes to the wage index. Hospitals in Missouri should expect an estimated 0.2% decrease in IPPS payments.

Results are illustrated in national, Missouri, health system and individual hospital groupings. Policy and analytic studies, prepared for distribution by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, are available for download to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®.

The analysis does not include the effects of payments for managed care patients, sequestration, or any modification in fee-for-service payments as a result of hospital participation in new payment models being tested under Medicare demonstration or pilot programs. The analysis, which is available online for authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®, includes a summary for the nation, Missouri, health systems and individual hospitals. Hospitals have until Monday, June 1, to review their hospital-specific data and submit comments regarding the proposed rule.

Aligned with National Public Health Week, which runs from April 6 to 12 this year, the Missouri Hospital Association and its data company, the Hospital Industry Data Institute, refreshed the data powering ZIP-level health information rankings on dashboards hosted by the exploreMOhealth platform and MissouriHealthMatters.org. The updated platforms reflect 2023-2025 data across 938 Missouri ZIP codes.

MHA-member hospitals also have access to patient-specific insights via determinants of health through the HIDI Advantage^® platform. 

Learn more about MHA’s community health resources here. 

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the 2026 HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

Policy and analytic studies, prepared for distribution by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, are available for download to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®.

The databases consist of a patient-level limited dataset, including all HIDI-reported discharges and visits to hospitals. Files are delivered as both text files and Microsoft Access database files. The files are located in “Premier Subscriptions/Inpatient and Outpatient Limited Datasets” and are organized in the following categories.

• Q1 FFY2026, Inpatient
• Q1 FFY2026, Outpatient Classified
• Q1 FFY2026, Outpatient Unclassified

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the 2026 HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

This move is part of a broader effort to better inform the public, streamline reporting processes and meet statutory requirements.

“This transition not only streamlines reporting for our hospitals but also enhances the overall experience for patients, providers and policymakers who rely on accurate, timely health care information,” said MHA President and CEO Jon D. Doolittle.

As part of this change, the Focus on Hospitals platform will be sunset, and all resources will be fully integrated into Missouri Health Matters.

The transparency data will be refreshed annually to ensure the information is up to date, comprehensive and fully audited before publication. Quarterly quality updates will continue to be available to member hospitals through HIDI Advantage Optics.

The latest updates to the data dashboards are live and include the following.

• Pricing data reflect July 2024 to June 2025.
• Quality outcomes data include July 2024 to June 2025 data for infections and harm, and June 2022 to May 2025 data for all readmissions measures.
• Pediatric hospitals’ quality data reflect July 2024 to June 2025 data for infections, and June 2022 to May 2025 for all readmissions measures.
• Critical access hospitals’ quality data reflect July 2022 to June 2025 data for infections and harm, and June 2022 to May 2025 for all readmissions measures.
• Community investment data and self-pay discount percentages reflect 2024 data.

For questions regarding the data, please contact the following MHA staff.

• Price: Josette Bax | jbax@mohospitals.org or 573-893-3700, ext. 1379
• Quality: Stephen Njenga | snjenga@mohospitals.org or 573-893-3700, ext. 1325
• Community Investment: Farrah Fite | ffite@mohospitals.org or 573-893-3700, ext. 1303

Requests and supporting documentation for revisions should be directed to the CMS Medicare Administrative Contractor. Requests for revisions are limited to mishandling of the data or revisions of desk review adjustments to wage index data.

In addition, MHA is providing an outpatient quality trends report, quality trending reports and a Medicare pay-for-performance reference guide. Although critical access hospitals are exempt from the Medicare IPPS pay-for-performance programs, quality trends reports are available for CAHs that submit quality data.

Also provided is a simulation representing the potential payment adjustment if CAHs were subject to the Medicare IPPS VBP program. Policy and analytic studies, prepared for distribution by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, are available for download to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®.

Through HIDI, MHA members gain access to a suite of interactive dashboards, benchmarking tools and analytic insights — many offered at no additional cost. These resources help hospitals improve critical aspects of care, including patient safety, maternal health outcomes, operational efficiency and financial sustainability. By transforming raw data into actionable intelligence, HIDI enables leaders to identify trends, anticipate challenges and drive measurable improvement. 

In its latest effort to support hospitals’ evolving needs, MHA and HIDI have launched the Payer Performance Initiative in partnership with Hyve Health. At the center of this initiative is the Vitality Index Payer Scorecard, an innovative tool designed to help hospitals strengthen their payer strategies through clear, data driven insights. 

The scorecard provides hospitals with a comprehensive view of payer performance, enabling leaders to evaluate contract value, identify opportunities for improvement and negotiate more effectively. To accelerate adoption and reduce barriers for members, HIDI is covering the full Hyve setup cost for participating hospitals for the next three years — a significant investment in the financial and operational health of Missouri’s hospital community. 

As health care continues to evolve, MHA and HIDI remain committed to delivering the intelligence hospitals need to navigate change and seize opportunity. By pairing robust data resources with strategic expertise, the association ensures its members are equipped to improve care, strengthen operations and advance the health of the communities they serve. 

Learn more about the value of MHA membership, HIDI’s full suite of analytics tools and how HIDI continues to be a trusted partner for Missouri’s health care leaders now and in the years to come. 

The databases consist of a patient-level limited dataset, including all HIDI-reported discharges and visits to hospitals. Files are delivered as both text files and Microsoft Access database files. The files are located in “Premier Subscriptions/Inpatient and Outpatient Limited Datasets” and are organized in the following categories.

• Q4 FFY2025, Inpatient
• Q4 FFY2025, Outpatient Classified
• Q4 FFY2025, Outpatient Unclassified

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the 2026 HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

• File Location: Premier Subscriptions/Stand-Alone Premier Reports
• File Name: MO0000_7-Year_Trends_2024 (12 2025).pdf

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the HIDI Premier Reporting Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

This analysis includes the estimated payment reduction by discharge setting, including skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, cancer and children’s hospitals, hospice and home health. Policy and analytic studies, prepared for distribution by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, are available for download to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®. 

As part of this initiative, HIDI has partnered with Hyve Health to deliver the Vitality Index Payer Scorecard, a real-time tool that benchmarks payer performance, identifies friction points and improves transparency in payer relationships. A pilot cohort is already underway, with broader availability planned for 2026.

The initiative will replace MHA’s Insurance Performance Scorecard and complement existing tools like the Hospital Performance Insights Dashboard and HIDI Fiscal Optics. Together, these resources support hospitals’ financial health and strengthen MHA’s advocacy with credible, evidence-based data.

Hospitals interested in participating can contact Brandon Hutchison.

Current subscribers will have their subscription(s) automatically renewed for the calendar year 2026 packages.  Subscription invoices will be delivered to your hospital/system in early December. The 2025 content currently in the premier package folders will be removed Wednesday, Dec. 31. If you would like to change your access level, please use the online form.

• Folder name: Premier Subscriptions/Inpatient and Outpatient Limited Datasets 

• File name: MO0000_ASF24-DATA.zip 

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

These quality data updates can be found in various reports in Advantage Optics, within the Care Optics folder.

If you have technical questions regarding these measures, please contact Josette Bax. For questions about accessing the website or running these reports, please contact HIDI.

The databases consist of a patient-level limited dataset, including all HIDI-reported discharges and visits to hospitals. Files are delivered as both text files and Microsoft Access database files. The files are located in “Premier Subscriptions/Inpatient and Outpatient Limited Datasets” and are organized in the following categories.

• Q3 FFY2025, Inpatient
• Q3 FFY2025, Outpatient Classified
• Q3 FFY2025, Outpatient Unclassified

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the 2025 HIDI Premier Data Package should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

Hospitals interested in subscribing to the HIDI Premier Report Package available on HIDI Advantage Analytics^® should review the package information. Current subscribers with questions about downloading files should contact HIDI.

This is the only opportunity to request revisions to your data. Subsequent requests for revisions are limited to mishandling of the data. The files are available for review to authorized users of HIDI Advantage^®.

An additional executive summary has been prepared that quantifies volume, charge and reimbursement metrics observable from 2018 to 2023. Hospitals interested in the granular detail available in “HIDI’s Average Hospital Charges for Medicare Patients – DRG Report” should contact HIDI.

 

The source for the financial information is the first quarter 2025 Healthcare Cost Report Information System database, which includes the Medicare cost report data. MHA posted these files to HIDI Advantage^® for review.

In addition to fulfilling requirements for hospital licensure and financial reporting, the data gathered through the survey is instrumental in shaping MHA’s services to benefit your hospital when it comes to health care policy, enhancing patient care and safety, and supporting workforce initiatives.

Here’s how your hospital’s participation in the Annual Licensing Survey makes a difference.

Advocacy efforts

When federal and state legislators consider policy changes affecting hospitals and health care, they need real data — and that’s where the Annual Licensing Survey comes into play.

Information from the survey is shared in an aggregated form for the entire state and each of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. The data then can be used to assess the fiscal strength of hospitals by congressional district, including payer mix, discharges, emergency room volume, operating margin, net margin and cash positions, said Andrew Wheeler, MHA vice president of federal advocacy and finance.

“This information has been helpful in discussions with members of Congress about protecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program, protecting Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital funding, preventing Medicare site neutrality payment reductions, extending the Medicare dependent hospital program and extending the enhanced Medicare low-volume payment adjustment,” he said.

Participation by hospitals in the Annual Licensing Survey strengthens MHA’s advocacy efforts by offering a comprehensive perspective of Missouri’s health care environment, along with each hospital’s unique role within their community. 

Regulatory requirements

In addition to the survey being a DHSS requirement for licensing hospitals, information is used by hospitals for applications to accreditation organizations, such as The Joint Commission.

“Survey organizations need this information, so they know what kind of surveyors to send to hospitals and how many surveyors to send,” said Lynn Rasnick, vice president of clinical and regulatory affairs at MHA. “They look at the number of off-site locations under the hospital’s license and what services are provided at that location.”

The survey also is referenced when recredentialing payer plans as well as applying for a facility's annual liability insurance, Rasnick said.

Patient care and safety

In addition, the data collected from the Annual Licensing Survey is important to quality care and patient safety initiatives, according to Jackie Gatz, MHA’s senior vice president of quality, safety and research.

MHA’s Quality, Safety and Research team leverages data from the survey to inform MHA-member hospitals about changes to the regulatory environment and opportunities for new performance improvement collaborations, she said.

“Many of our initiatives are deployed based on a hospital’s number of beds or by service line, and the survey allows us to develop quality and safety programming to member cohorts based on the capacity and capability of each individual hospital,” Gatz said.

Workforce insights

Survey data provides insights into staffing levels, workforce shortages and hospital capacity.

The information collected helps support hospitals and state leaders in forecasting workforce needs, aligning education pipelines with in-demand occupations, and justifying investments in training and retention efforts, according to Jill Williams, vice president of workforce development at MHA.

“This survey also offers insights that could be used to address staffing challenges and improve access to care, particularly in underserved communities,” she said.

Need assistance?

The Annual Licensing Survey is a critical data collection effort facilitated through the Hospital Industry Data Institute, MHA’s data company.

“By taking the time to complete the survey carefully and thoroughly, your team helps ensure Missouri hospitals are ready to meet the needs of the communities they serve,” said Brandon Hutchison, MHA’s and HIDI’s senior vice president of research, data and information services. 

If Missouri hospital staff have questions or need help accessing or completing the survey, contact HIDI Support at hidi@mohospitals.org or email asf@mohospitals.org for assistance with the survey.

Staff Contact: Brian Waterman

In its earliest days, the Hospital Industry Data Institute, established by the Missouri Hospital Association in 1985, looked a lot different than it does now.

Hospitals initially sent paper discharge records to HIDI, and HIDI staff manually entered those records, according to Brian Waterman, HIDI’s division vice president of product strategy and development.

“HIDI staff recognized early on, that based on member requests, we could produce a report that describes hospital-based utilization across the state. That report was made available to MHA members as a book,” said Waterman, who talked about HIDI’s 40th anniversary on a recent episode of MHA’s podcast, PolicyHuddle.

With technology evolving, the paper reports were replaced by interactive reports via CD-ROMs sent to member hospitals.

Today, the organization manages a cloud-based analytics infrastructure that supports real-time reporting, predictive modeling and complex program evaluation.

HIDI was an early adopter of web-based analytics, launching its first interactive reporting platform, HIDI Advantage Analytics, in the early 2000s.

That digital transformation yielded remarkable results. While it used to take three to five months to turn around insights for hospitals, HIDI adopted technology that dramatically reduced the time it takes to generate insights from raw data.

HIDI helps hospitals make faster, more informed decisions — from improving care quality to understanding health disparities to preparing for regulatory change.

More than just data collection

HIDI was initially founded to fulfill a core federal requirement that funneled down to the state level around health departments needing a comprehensive look at what was happening at hospitals, Waterman said.

Forward-thinking leaders at MHA and HIDI saw they could not only provide this data to meet these requirements, but also that the data could be utilized in other ways.

The tools HIDI developed led to less emphasis on the work required to make the descriptive data available and more emphasis on generating insights out of the data, Waterman said.

Hospitals today rely on HIDI to explore trends in mortality, complications and utilization. Increasingly, HIDI tools also are being used to forecast the future — modeling the impact of quality improvements, service line changes or shifting patient demographics.

When hospital leaders are looking at various process improvements or changes to their market or service area in some way, shape or form, “these insights become a super valuable addition to the types of business questions that a hospital executive might have or that a person taking care of people might have,” Waterman said.

“The value of being able to provide unbiased analytic insights driven by questions that are important to our entire membership is important,” he said.

One breakthrough has been the Master Patient Index, which allows HIDI to link patient encounters across hospitals. This enables more comprehensive evaluations of hospital programs and deeper understanding of community health dynamics.

“The Master Patient Index allows us to look at different kinds of business questions that previously we were unable to easily answer, like ‘Is this program that I'm investing in to improve quality or have an impact on my community resulting in a change in hospital-based utilization?’” Waterman said.

With HIDI, hospitals can see how specific patients are using their services. More importantly, by combining data from hospitals across Missouri, HIDI can provide a fuller, statewide picture for hospitals.

“You can't do that without all the data in Missouri and the trust,” Waterman said.

Looking ahead

From the beginning, trust has been central to the HIDI model. This trust enabled HIDI to grow beyond data collection. Over time, hospitals recognized that with HIDI managing and standardizing their data, they could gain deeper insights, advocate more effectively and improve outcomes.

“I think that trust has built collectively over time, through hospitals seeing us fulfill those [hospital utilization] requirements on an economy of scale that would be much less than if each hospital had to do their own data submission,” Waterman said.

As data and technology constantly change and grow, new forms of information-driven decision-making — as artificial intelligence and health data utilities become more common and various types of regulatory reform occur — will increasingly require more sophisticated collection of data, Waterman said.

“HIDI remains committed to leveraging that data in ways that are rooted in an understanding of our participating hospitals’ needs and the evolving legislation that shapes how data can and should be used,” he said.

Learn more about HIDI’s 40th anniversary and stay up to date with the latest news by following HIDI’s LinkedIn page.

The new scorecard introduces provider-level data using National Provider Identifier (NPI) information. Built to support hospital QI teams — not for use in credentialing or punitive review — this feature is designed to encourage peer engagement and collaborative reflection on outcomes data.

Using a four-level drill down format, users can explore blinded statewide participating hospital trends, zoom into their hospital-specific data, view unadjusted rates by attending physicians (for those with 25+ cases) and access patient-level details to guide internal review processes.

Key highlights for the update include:

• clear visualization of unadjusted SMM rates by provider
• contextual information such as risk stratification and NPI taxonomy
• a tool to support root cause analysis, chart review and evidence-based practice alignment

Importantly, SMM and other outcome rates are not risk-adjusted and are intended for descriptive, not comparative use. Providers are encouraged to interpret trends with an understanding of the many factors that contribute to maternal outcomes, including clinical practices, team dynamics and patient-level risk factors.

This update reflects the Missouri Hospital Association’s and the PQC’s shared commitment to providing tools that support safer birth outcomes and elevate maternal health across Missouri. As hospitals continue to implement maternal safety bundles and improvement strategies, this expanded view will help drive conversations that lead to better outcomes for birthing individuals and babies. Users may view their specific Tableau-based dashboard through the Hospital Industry Data Institute’s Care Optics^® platform by signing into the HIDI Advantage^® user portal or by requesting access.

While the survey is a DHSS requirement for licensing hospitals, the information collected from the survey serves a far greater purpose — providing essential data for advocacy efforts and reports. 

“Coordinated by the Hospital Industry Data Institute, the Annual Licensing Survey is a one-stop shop that provides MHA, AHA and DHSS with the information needed to support the work of Missouri’s hospitals,” said Brandon Hutchison, MHA’s and HIDI’s senior vice president of research, data and information services. 

The data allow MHA, AHA and DHSS to make informed decisions when it comes to health care. 

By providing a comprehensive snapshot of hospital operations, the survey allows MHA, AHA and DHSS to advocate for hospitals more effectively, without repeatedly contacting them for information throughout the year. 

What information is collected? 

The Annual Licensing Survey gathers data from many different areas, including a hospital’s basic organizational structure, current service offerings, staffing, financials, information technology setup and capabilities, and more. 

“As the health care landscape continues to evolve and hospitals face new challenges, additional or different information is requested in the survey to help support well-informed advocacy and policy decisions,” Hutchison said. 

For instance, the IT portions of the survey change drastically from year to year as technology advances. This year’s survey asks about artificial intelligence and large language models.  

The types of services that hospitals are asked to provide in the survey also have become more granular over the years, Hutchison said. 

How is the survey data used? 

The data collected from the Annual Licensing Survey inform a variety of reports at both the state and national levels.  

MHA uses the data in its annual legislative guides and community investment reports. 

DHSS uses the data for publishing three-year revenue and utilization charts. 

AHA publishes the data in the AHA Guide^® and AHA Hospital Statistics^TM as well as provides the data to organizations to be used in, for example, Newsweek’s hospital rankings. 

Data are sent to AHA and DHSS at set intervals throughout the year. 

Finalizing the survey results can take time due to the large volume of data collected and the need for thorough analysis. The speed at which hospitals complete the survey, as well as the processing capacity of each organization, impacts the timeline of when the survey results are released. 

The Annual Licensing Survey is much more than a regulatory requirement — it’s a powerful tool for shaping health care in Missouri.