New KHA Report: Kentucky Hospital Utilization Trends Show Rising Demand Across the Commonwealth

KHA has released its latest Kentucky Hospital Utilization report, offering members a timely look at how hospital use is changing across the state. The May 2026 report shows that Kentucky hospitals continue to experience rising demand, with inpatient discharges increasing for a third consecutive year and outpatient visits now exceeding 12.7 million annually.

The report also highlights the growing role of Medicare Advantage in both inpatient and outpatient utilization. Medicare Advantage is driving much of the recent growth in hospital use, while traditional Medicare fee-for-service trends remain comparatively flat or declining in several areas.
Emergency department (ED) utilization has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with continued growth in higher-acuity cases. Since 2022, Kentucky has seen notable increases in high-acuity ED visits among Medicare and commercial payer populations, underscoring the growing complexity of patient care in hospitals.

You can read the full Kentucky Hospital Utilization report on the KHA Data Center website.

For more information, please contact KHA Director of Health Information and Analytics Maik Schutze (mschutze@kyha.com).