Rich Daly
About the Author
Rich Daly is senior editor, policy affairs with HFMA, based in Alabama. His healthcare policy and finance reporting experience includes staff writer positions with Modern Healthcare and Congressional Quarterly (both focused on healthcare regulatory and legislative developments); editor-in-chief of 340B Report (the only news outlet focused on daily policy, legal, and business developments in the 340B program); and serving as a content director for Sg2/Vizient Inc (producing reports on financial pain points and solutions for health systems). He previously covered daily news for HFMA and wrote features for Healthcare Financial Management magazine, where his recognitions included the Stephen Barr Award (the only individual achievement award) from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
Latest Work
FastFinance: Health system OBBBA effects, DSH court ruling
HFMA’s FastFinance newsletter is now a podcast. Host Rich Daly discusses the most current and relevant healthcare news, delivered in an easily digestible format. A seven-state health system has garnered federal rural funding under the 2025 federal healthcare overhaul, even as it prepares for adverse impacts next year. Also, this week’s Weird Number: $1.8 trillion.…
Health system sees early OBBBA benefits, coming challenges
A seven-state health system has garnered federal rural funding under the 2025 federal healthcare overhaul, even as it prepares for adverse impacts next year. Nick Olson, executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of Sanford Health, said the health system has garnered $36 million in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding to use as startup capital…
Single-payer system to cut $300 billion from providers: analysis
Hospitals and other providers would face a $300 billion annual revenue cut under a single-payer approach that sets all payments to Medicare rates, according to a high-profile Yale analysis. Adopting a single-payer system would save more than 100,000 lives and cost $1 trillion less each year, claims a new preprint study led by researchers at…
$3 billion annual hospital VBP cost: study
Just four mandatory value-based payment (VBP) programs cost hospitals $3 billion in higher administrative costs every year, according to new research. The administrative cost findings of research published in August in JAMA Health Forum could help project hospital costs as mandatory VBP programs continue to propagate. The researchers identified changes in administrative costs when Inpatient…
Businesses increase support for hospital price caps
Business groups increasingly support various approaches to cap hospital prices. Although many business groups continue their traditional opposition to any government price controls, an increasing number of business professionals see ones focused on hospitals and health systems as an effective option. That support was shown in a new National Alliance for Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (NAHPC)…
FastFinance: Capex trends; new 340B bill
HFMA’s FastFinance newsletter is now a podcast. Host Rich Daly discusses the most current and relevant healthcare news, delivered in an easily digestible format. Hospital and health system capital expenditures in fiscal 2025 reached their highest since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, according to Fitch Ratings Also, this week’s Weird Number: $137…
Capex surges to highest since 2008
Hospital and health system capital expenditures in fiscal 2025 reached their highest since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, according to Fitch Ratings Capital expenditure (capex) as a percentage of depreciation expense surged to 142.7% in fiscal 2025, the highest since it was 154.4% in fiscal 2008, among the hospitals and health systems…
Fitch medians: 10 things to know
Improving hospital and health system operating margins in 2025 were among the findings in the latest Fitch Ratings medians. Here are 10 insights from the Fitch Ratings’ 2026 medians (subscription required), based on audited 2025 data of its 222 rated organizations:
How to make direct contracting finances work
As direct contracting arrangements grow — including one state requiring health systems to offer them — a leading provider identified keys to boosting their finances. Nick Stefanizzi, CEO of Northwell Direct, leads Northwell Health’s for-profit direct contracting subsidiary. Since adding its first customer in 2022, it has grown to serve more than 300,000 employee members…
Site-neutral payment changes are most likely congressional reform this year
Legislation pushing site-neutral payments remains the most likely healthcare policy change to pass Congress this year, as it enters the final months of the legislative calendar. Congress is about to depart for its annual August recess, which will leave only a month and a half on the legislative calendar for action before the midterm elections.…