MAHONING & SHENANGO VALLEYS - 21 News has been exploring the potential pitfalls any group that takes over Steward hospitals will likely face due to the unique circumstances of that bankruptcy.

But even in the best scenarios, operating a hospital is full of financial dangers. Despite reports showing inflation rates cooling off, high costs continue affecting the hospital industry. 

The first medical director of Ohio's Medicaid program and financial expert, TJ Redington, says operating a hospital is getting more costly.

"If your costs are going up faster than you can raise prices, then your margins are going to get squeezed. For half the hospitals in the United States right now they are either breaking even or losing money." Redington told 21 News. 

He says potential buyers of local Steward Health Care hospitals face the same challenge.

But the problem isn't just inflation. Reimbursement rates are falling short on covering the costs for patient care.

"Medicare and the commercial payers are really at their limit. So Medicare is continuing to cut reimbursement to hospitals commercial payers are reluctant to pay anymore than they are already paying," Redington said. 

As medical services become more expensive, Redington says hospitals need to shift their business models from one that is based on each service provided to the patient to one that is based on the overall quality of the patient's outcome.

21 News reached out to local stakeholders who want to buy Trumbull Regional Hospital for comment about their plans to overcome these issues, but they have not responded.