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Note: The lead section of this article was updated June 17 with clarifying information on state-directed payments. As released late Monday afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare proposals that would be part of the budget reconciliation bill go beyond the House bill in constraining Medicaid spending. Key changes from the version passed by the House…

This article has been updated July 8 as noted to reflect changes made to the bill between the version passed by the House and the final legislation. As congressional Republicans continue their discussions on the budget reconciliation bill, not-for-profit (NFP) hospital leaders should be aware of items that have gotten less attention than the retrenchment…

A landmark hospital pricing bill that recently became law in Indiana could foreshadow similar developments in other states. Indiana hospitals will face both a tax penalty and the loss of their tax-exempt status if their prices exceed designated limits. The limits, to be determined via a formula set by the state’s Office of Management and…

For both revenue and costs, ongoing policy developments pose a risk of aggravating trends that already are constraining hospital budgets. The budget reconciliation bill in Congress and the imposition of extensive tariffs would add to ongoing pressures on hospital finances. Bad debt levels are rising among not-for-profit hospitals, as are supply costs, and those issues…

This article was updated June 12. According to early discussions in the Senate, a final version of the budget reconciliation bill could reduce the amount of federal spending in Medicare Advantage (MA). The Senate is considering whether to modify the reconciliation bill passed by the House, and one topic of conversation is how to achieve…

Healthcare providers faced growing challenges last year in getting paid for care among patients covered by insurance, according to new benchmark data from Kodiak Solutions. And it was both insurers and patients who were lagging in payment or not paying at all. Denials of coverage by health plans, already a problem in 2023, increased during…

A new study assesses the financial impact of violence in hospitals and their communities, finding that the issue amounts to a multibillion-dollar problem annually. Estimated costs total $18.27 billion per year, according to a report published June 2 by the American Hospital Association (AHA). The largest share of that total, $13.1 billion, is the amount…

An updated version of President Donald Trump’s FY26 budget request to Congress includes new information on how proposed spending cuts would affect HHS and its subsidiary agencies. As described in a summary, the request calls for “radical change” to improve the performance of the U.S. healthcare system, reiterating previously reported ideas for shrinking and restructuring…

Today’s mid-cycle teams face mounting pressure. Oversight is tightening, payer policies are shifting rapidly and margins continue to shrink. This phase is no longer a simple pass-through, it’s a vital operational checkpoint that demands both strategic leadership and attention to detail. Hospitals that implement structure and prioritize accuracy tend to stay ahead. Those that don’t…

A rapid acceleration of digital healthcare applications will be central to the looming transformation of the U.S. healthcare system, according to Mehmet Oz, MD, administrator of CMS. Oz spoke at the annual Not-for Profit Healthcare Investor Conference, sponsored by HFMA, Barclays and the American Hospital Association. He sought to explain why sweeping, systemic changes are…