Nick Hut
About the Author
Nick Hut is a former newspaper reporter with more than a decade of experience at HFMA. His HFMA Daily reporting is considered a top benefit of membership as members have come to rely on Hut’s daily insights on policy, legal and business developments. He has been at the forefront of major industry news, garnering a following from national media. Nick has earned multiple national awards, including two first-place honors in 2024 from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for excellence in analysis and reporting.
Latest Work
Expiration of ACA enhanced subsidies would pose high financial risk for hospitals in 12 states
Amid a continuing push in Congress to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies, a new analysis identifies the states where expiration would have the biggest financial impact on hospitals. Not-for-profit hospitals in a dozen states are at high risk of negative credit shocks if the subsidies are not renewed, according to a Fitch…
Projected Medicare Advantage 2027 payment rate draws concern from plans and providers
CMS’s proposed Medicare Advantage (MA) 2027 payment rate would result in minimal overall growth for health plans, with average payments to MA plans projected to increase by only 0.09%, according to the MA advance rate notice published this week. MA policy increasingly has grabbed headlines in conjunction with the program’s enrollment surge from 33% of…
Health insurers tell Congress their operations aren’t the cause of high healthcare costs
The debate over the root causes of surging healthcare costs came to Capitol Hill this week as health insurance executives defended their business models to Congress. While acknowledging bipartisan criticism after a year when the cost of employer-sponsored family coverage grew by 6%, with similar or larger projections for 2026, the executives said the crux…
Site-neutral payment emerges as Medicaid savings tool in GOP reconciliation plan
Congressional Republicans are touting healthcare competition and consumer choice, along with expanded site-neutral payment, in a preliminary framework for a second reconciliation bill. The Republican Study Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives put forth ideas geared toward healthcare policies, home prices, energy prices, credits for stay-at-home parents and more, along with proposals to cut…
New administrative mandate for hospitals signed into law as part of FY26 appropriations
Note: The headline and lead section of this article were updated with news that Congress passed the appropriations bill. The FY26 appropriations bill signed Feb. 3 by President Donald Trump leaves hospitals with two years to prepare for a new administrative obligation pertaining to off-campus outpatient departments (OPDs). The package, which passed the Senate last…
Hospital use and service intensity helped fuel healthcare spending growth in 2024
Increasing use and intensity of hospital care, physician and clinical services, and retail prescription drugs led a continued surge in U.S. healthcare spending in 2024, according to newly released data. National health expenditures (NHE) reached $5.3 trillion, a 7.2% increase year-over-year and comparable with the 7.4% jump recorded in 2023. Except for the pandemic year…
Trump releases healthcare plan that would have major implications for the industry
President Donald Trump’s newly released healthcare plan would promote transparency and consumerism and usher in significant changes to coverage, with some stakeholders saying more information is necessary to make a valid assessment of the pros and cons. Touted as a push to address wider issues with affordability, the plan requires Congress to fill in the…
No Surprises Act IDR enforcement uncertain after Supreme Court declines review
Inaction by the Supreme Court this week raised new questions about enforcement of the No Surprises Act’s independent dispute resolution (IDR) process. The high court denied a petition by two air ambulance companies to review a circuit court’s 2025 decision that IDR awards are not enforceable in federal court. That opinion by the U.S. Court…
Hospital-insurer contract disputes could intensify as cost pressures persist
Relationships between hospitals and health insurers are expected to undergo further strain this year, according to analysts with a leading credit ratings agency. “Providers are still dealing with rising operating costs, labor supplies and infrastructure that outpace what insurers have been willing to pay in recent years,” said Bradley Ellis, senior director for the U.S.…
Affordable Care Act subsidy extension progresses, but many questions persist (updated Jan. 13)
Note: A section of this article has been updated with the latest ACA enrollment numbers for 2026 Momentum in Congress is building toward an extension of the enhanced subsidies for buying Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage, although successful passage would not negate the ongoing uncertainty. On Jan. 8, the House of Representatives passed a…