NEW YORK, NY November 16, 2005 —New York State's hospitals have lost money for a seventh straight year - even as hospitals' economic health has improved nationwide. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

REPORTER: A report finds says the state's 200-plus non-profit hospitals lost a total of more than $100 million. Facilities in the city lost almost three times that, but were offset by slight gains elsewhere.

The Healthcare Association of New York State's Daniel Sisto says large urban hospital systems everywhere are having problems, but New York's high labor costs and low reimbursement rates make things even worse.

SISTO: You have hospitals in New York caught in a vise, on the one hand, the pressures of decreasing payments, and on the other hand, a lot of cost pressures beyond their ability to control.

REPORTER: Sisto says hospitals are working to cut costs and become more efficient but there is little they can do if reimbursement rates don't improve. Governor Pataki has convened a commission to overhaul the public and private hospital system by the end of next year.