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…
Hospitals confront nursing opposition to AI
Health systems’ adoption of artificial intelligence to improve productivity increasingly is meeting opposition from their nursing staff. Nurse opposition to AI has become most visible in nurse strikes, where limits and guardrails on AI deployment for clinical and administrative uses have emerged. Sixty-five percent of hospitals reported using AI or predictive models integrated with their…
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…
Predict, prevent, perform: The AI evolution of denials management
Healthcare providers continue to face escalating denial rates that erode financial performance and operational capacity. In 2025, denial rates averaged near 12%, with many organizations experiencing even higher volumes — each percentage point representing millions of dollars tied up in unresolved claims. The growing volume and complexity of denials are no longer manageable with legacy,…
How to use an enterprise approach in implementing AI in RCM
Revenue cycle transformation has long been framed as a matter of technological advances. But in the AI-fueled era, the differentiator is shifting from individual technologies to enterprise operating model redesign, according to leaders from Mayo Clinic and Jefferson Health. They described how their organizations are repositioning revenue cycle as a core component of care delivery,…
How to optimize the revenue cycle workforce in 2026
In 2026, revenue cycle performance is inseparable from workforce design. Health systems are navigating sustained margin pressure, rising patient cost responsibility and escalating payer complexity — all while competing for limited domestic talent. Recent Kaufman Hall National Hospital Flash Reports continue to show margin volatility across U.S. hospitals, with labor costs and payer-related delays remaining…
AI Adoption in denials management lags as other RCM uses expand
Denials management, one of the toughest tasks in hospital revenue cycle management (RCM), deserves more attention from AI experts, but RCM execs are not diving in with AI solutions for multiple reasons. About one in five healthcare providers apply AI to denials management, a 2025 Bain & Co. survey found. Instead, providers have turned more…
CFOs see AI innovation officer as key role in healthcare leadership
CFOs of hospitals and health systems are prioritizing the development of AI capabilities in the C-suite, with the chief AI innovation or implementation officer being seen as the most important role, and cost containment and cybersecurity being the areas where CFOs feel the most prepared.
For-profit health systems turn to AI and automation to manage payer denials
Some for-profit health systems are increasingly looking to AI and other automation tools to tackle the worsening problem of payer denial management, as 73% of providers have seen claims denials increase.
UChicago Medicine grows into role of AI innovator
UChicago Medicine discovered that they are ahead of other healthcare institutions in their use of AI for revenue cycle, and they are focusing on using AI to strengthen business outcomes, supporting a culture of AI innovation, implementing a governance framework, and measuring and optimizing performance.