Finance and Business Strategy

Michele Cusack, executive vice president and CFO at Northwell Health, was at a crossroads. She had to choose between two potential innovation investments, both of which clearly aligned with the system’s strategy and were backed by strong internal champions. One provided a more traditional opportunity to reinvest in core clinical infrastructure with a clear, near-term…

Healthcare finance leaders are confronting a new reality: Revenue cycle performance is no longer just an operational task — it’s a central driver of financial sustainability and organizational resilience. Rising payer complexity, increasing patient financial responsibility and the persistent pressure of workforce shortages are forcing a strategic reappraisal of how revenue operations are structured and…

Read this report on how healthcare C-suite leaders face growing pressures to adapt to rapid technological advancements and unsustainable costs. AI, innovation, and payer relations are key areas for focus.

In today’s healthcare landscape, every financial conversation shapes not just patient satisfaction, but organizational trust. As health systems work to manage rising costs and operational complexity, revenue cycle teams find themselves carrying the dual burden of protecting financial performance while supporting patient experience, often without the resources to excel at either. Automation presents undeniable advantages…

Hospitals and health systems are grappling with rising denial rates, particularly among commercial and Medicare Advantage plans. Years ago, denials might have been isolated friction points in the billing process; but as rates have risen, denials have become a strategic-level issue with a measurable impact on financial performance. Historically, denial mitigation efforts tended to focus on…

The role of the healthcare CFO is evolving — and so are the skills needed for success. Here, CFOs and industry experts explore the new competencies CFOs must possess and how leaders in this space are preparing for the future.

Healthcare organizations are facing unprecedented operating costs, largely driven by labor and inflation. According to the American Hospital Association (AHA), “Persistent workforce shortages, severe fractures in the supply chain for drugs and supplies and high levels of inflation have collectively fueled hospitals’ costs.” The AHA also emphasized the challenges of “higher acuity care and deepening…

Recent market disruptions in the hospital industry make it imperative that health systems be precise in their capital planning for growth initiatives as part of an overall strategic vision. An essential goal for such planning is to find a balance between service line diversification and expansion, while maintaining sound financial results. Weighing the pros and…

The American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA) awarded Jeni Williams, a regular contributor to hfm, with an honorable mention for the special report, “SDOH: Leader or convener? Hospitals and health systems still struggle with their role,” which she wrote in 2023 as part of HFMA’s Healthcare 2030 series. Williams’ recognition in the ASJA’s B2B…

The Federal Reserve’s plan to begin reducing interest rates in 2024 will likely unleash private equity’s pent-up demand for physician practices and other healthcare services companies. “Everybody wants to transact,” said Bret Schiller, managing director and head of healthcare in corporate client banking at J.P. Morgan. “I think that, at the first rate cut we…