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: AI in the ED; ACA plan pressure could hit providers
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. An AI tool helped cut emergency department lengths of stay, a recent study found. That improvement demonstrates the technology’s potential to drive operational efficiency, says one of its authors. Also, this…
AI moves beyond revenue cycle
An AI tool helped to cut emergency department (ED) lengths of stay (LOS), a recent study found. That improvement demonstrates the technology’s potential to drive operational efficiency, says one of its authors. The prospective study, which was published last month in the journal Nature, used an AI model to predict hospital admission risk for ED…
ACA plan financial struggles could hit providers
ACA marketplace plans lost $5.5 billion in 2025 — despite record enrollment and before extra subsidies expired, according to new data. Their course-correction strategies could hit hospitals and health systems. The individual segment plans suffered a $5.5 billion underwriting loss in 2025, according to an analysis of insurance filings by Mark Farrah Associates. That compared…
What the Trump administration told finance leaders
Several high-level healthcare officials from the Trump administration, including the CMS administrator, addressed various components of health policy at the HFMA Annual Conference last week. Their comments provided some insights on how the administration thinks about policy, industry trends and innovations. ‘Definitely not terminal’ Mehmet Oz, MD, administrator of CMS, said the “breakthrough ideas” of…
Health systems approach risk with payers
Health systems are finding different interest and approaches to downside risk in value-based care (VBC) among health plans in their markets. Mark Bortnem, CFO of Essentia Health, said some of their payers have clinical teams that will partner with Essentia’s medical leadership to strategize collectively about how to reduce low-value care and avoidable care. However,…
FastFinance: Provider plan challenges; Digital diversion tool
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. Hospitals and health systems have launched an increasing number of health plans in recent years and now provider plan challenges mean they need major re-assessments and decisive action. Also, this week’s…
Not dead: Provider-sponsored plans reassessing
Provider-sponsored health plans (PSHPs) proliferated in recent years and now face a historically challenging market. Some are reassessing, while others are in wait-and-see mode, says an adviser. From 2018 through 2023 the number of hospitals owning PSHPs increased from 692 (18.3% of hospitals) to 834 (27.2%), according to a new study published in JAMA by…
Amid ED surge, hospitals add diversion tools
Surging emergency department (ED) volumes have led a growing number of health systems to launch digital tools to divert nonemergent patients to alternative sites of care. Hospital ED volumes have increased 25% since 2021, according to the medians [subscription required] of rated hospitals tracked by Moody’s Investors Service. High ED volumes have resulted in overcrowding…
Policy clarity drives hospitals’ M&A surge
Hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&As) jumped in 2026 to a six-year high amid greater clarity in policies that will affect those organizations. Hospital M&A activity comes in stark contrast to other parts of the healthcare sector, which have slowed transactions due to higher borrowing costs. The 22 hospital and health system transactions announced in Q1…
Providers not seeing prior authorization improvement
Amid promises from health plans that they have dialed back their use of prior authorization, hospitals and health systems are not seeing any reduction in their use, say advisers. In April, health plans announced that they eliminated 11% of prior authorizations (PAs) across a range of medical services, representing 6.5 million fewer PAs for patients.…