Researchers are warning the U.S. might be facing a coming hospital bed shortage amid projections of annual hospitalizations rising from 6 million in 2025 to 40 million in 10 years.

The Journal of The American Medical Association Network Open (JAMA) reported hospital admissions have remained 11 percentage points higher since the COVID-19 pandemic and an aging population and labor shortages are exacerbated by hospital closures, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The Department of Health and Human Services began reporting weekly hospital occupancy data in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the data through 2024 covering the full Biden administration gives “unprecedented insight” into coming shortages, the researchers wrote.

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