Puerto Rico Chapter signs collaborative agreement
HFMA’s Puerto Rico Chapter recently joined forces with Puerto Rico’s College of Health Services Administrators to address challenges and opportunities in the field of health services administration. The relationship was made official when the two groups signed a collaborative agreement on Sept. 15 during the Chapter’s Annual Healthcare Update in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. The…
It may be time to terminate legacy interest rate hedges
In a higher-interest-rate environment, improved valuations on fixed payer swap positions may provide an opportunity to terminate those positions. That decision will depend upon considerations related to capital structure goals and impacts on profit-and-loss statements and the balance sheet. Fixed payer swap rates are higher by about 100 basis points so far in 2023, 400…
David Johnson: Efforts to revitalize healthcare on Chicago’s South Side underscore a critical national challenge
The United States continues to struggle with daunting inner-city health and healthcare problems borne out of innate social inequities. Effective solutions are few and far between. One initiative on Chicago’s South Side, launched just before the COVID-19 pandemic, encapsulates the potential and perils of system restructuring. In that distant January of 2020, four Chicago safety-net…
Theresa Mouton: CFOs need to be able to lead through chaos
As a 34-year healthcare finance veteran, Theresa Mouton, MBA, has seen her share of changes within the industry. Currently the Western Region CFO for Steward Health Care, Mouton oversees 17 hospitals across five states. In a career that has taken her from investor-owned health systems to not-for-profit hospitals and back again to the investor-owned side,…
Dennis Dahlen: Are states losing patience with the pace of healthcare value transformation?
The pace of state-based regulation and oversight of healthcare providers is accelerating — and it could be an indication that patience is growing thin with federal, payer and provider efforts to improve healthcare value. Across the nation, we’re seeing a growing number of states adopt healthcare affordability boards. It’s a trend that started to pick…
First Illinois Chapter kicks off 75th anniversary celebration
HFMA’s first chapter — fittingly named First Illinois — recently turned 75 and is marking the major milestone with a year-long celebration. And how did they kick things off? With a party, of course. The event took place July 20 at the Carlucci restaurant in Rosemont, Illinois. Seventy-two attended the celebration, which was part of…
Jill Geisler: 8 ways to lead a team, not a silo
Have you ever worked in an organization where departments or divisions don’t get along well? You might assume it’s caused by old grudges or personality conflicts. But take a closer look. It’s often a leadership issue — and specifically when leaders may have allowed or even encouraged their staff to work as a silo instead…
HFMA member Michael Bumann shares experience as Burning Man medic
Thanks to unprecedented heavy rain, thousands who attended the 2023 Burning Man event Aug. 27-Sept. 4 in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert found themselves literally stuck in the mud. For HFMA member Michael Bumann, it was a transformative experience. Bumann, of Olympic Valley, California, is the founder and CEO of RedDot, a company that specializes in…
David Johnson: Right-sizing physician training? The case for surgical mechanics
American healthcare reputedly confronts a monumental physician shortage. A highly publicized 2021 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) forecasts that shortage to be as high as 180,000 physicians by 2034.a That’s out of a total population of roughly one million physicians. A breathless commentary on the AAMC report by the American Medical Association…
Andrew Donahue: 4 reasons results of the 2024 election won’t matter for healthcare
There is a strange and underappreciated truth at the top of the American political system: Our president is remarkably powerless. Except in the realms of foreign policy, executive agency action and judicial branch appointments, the president’s policy agenda is rarely guided by intention. Rather, it is defined by limitation. Savvy presidents learn quickly that their…