Cash on hand is the financial pulse of a hospital: a single number that captures how long a system could keep its lights on, its payroll met, and its doors open if revenue suddenly stopped. Across 55 health systems, the numbers tell wildly different stories. Hoag Memorial in Newport Beach, California is sitting on more than 15 months of cash. Palomar Health, just a couple hours down the coast, has 19 days. Between September and December of 2025, most systems inched upward, a few surged, and a handful saw their reserves shrink by weeks in a single quarter.
The accompanying chart tracks where each system stood at year-end and how much ground it gained or lost over the final three months of the year, using data from recently published financial reports compiled by Becker’s Hospital Review.