Most Massachusetts hospitals turned a profit in the last fiscal year

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Most Massachusetts hospitals — 49 out of 62 — were profitable last year, according to a new analysis from the state Center for Health Information and Analysis.

But their margins are dropping.

The median operating margin for acute-care hospitals last year in Massachusetts was 1.6 percent. That’s down from 2.8 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2015. In 2014, the median operating margin was 2.4 percent.

Operating margin reflects a hospital’s core business: patient care. When taking into account non-operating business such as investment returns, the median profit margin last year was 3.2 percent.

The figures were compiled from hospital financial reports for the 2017 fiscal year, which for most hospitals ended Sept. 30, 2017.