FastFinance: Hospital building surge; AI-coding study pushback
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. Health systems will spend a record amount this year building new hospitals, with hospital and clinic construction budgets far outpacing outpatient facilities, like ASCs. Also, this week’s Weird Number: 39%. That’s…
Payer study: AI coding drives a multibillion-dollar spending increase
After years of allegations by payers that the increasing hospital adoption of AI-driven billing is increasing costs, the industry has produced the first research that allegedly quantifies it. Hospitals’ AI-enabled coding capabilities drove $2.3 billion in increased spending in a recent three-year period, according to new research from Blue Health Intelligence, a data analytics partner…
Despite pressures, healthcare construction spending to increase
Although concerns about hospital closures dominate headlines, spending on construction of hospitals — and other healthcare facilities — is moving at a record pace. Spending on hospital and clinic construction starts in 2026 were expected to jump 11.6% from 2025 to 2026 and reach $30.7 billion, according to ConstructConnect, a commercial construction project data and…
Finances drive REH conversion
One hospital’s conversion to a rural emergency hospital (REH) has reversed its financial challenges and allowed service changes sought by the local community. Negative operating margins were the norm for Mercy Hospital in Moundridge, Kansas, for more than 10 years before it considered a major strategic shift. The 15-bed prospective payment system rural hospital came…
Minnesota hospitals: 340B revenue from drugmaker profits
The $1.3 billion Minnesota providers garnered in 2024 from the 340B program was money that would have gone to drugmaker profits, states the hospital group. The latest state-mandated report on Minnesota covered entities’ earnings from 340B found: The increase from 2023 to 2024 primarily stemmed from the latest report adding office-administered drugs by covered entities,…
FastFinance: Physician unionizing push; Trans services rules
Health systems face a growing physician unionization push this year, amid heightened overall strike activity. Also, this week’s Weird Number: 20. That’s the number of states that have enacted mandatory minimum income limits for free or discounted care. One More Thing: CMS has issued two rules that aim to bar “sex-rejecting procedures” on children, which…
Physicians increasingly targeted for unionization
The ongoing unionization push in healthcare increasingly is targeting physicians. A leading healthcare union for interns, residents and fellows increased its membership from 17,000 in 2021 to more than 40,000 in 2025, according to an annual union activity report from the American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA). And unions are gearing up…
Costs loom amid evolving trans care policies
Hospitals urged CMS to withdraw proposed rules aimed at barring “sex-rejecting procedures” on children, while others warned of costs. Several hospital groups raised objections to two proposed rules from CMS that would: A violation of the CoPs can result in monetary sanctions, exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid and, potentially, False Claims Act violations, noted a…
Q&A: Financial lessons from Northwell’s ACO
As the federal government gears up for another expansion of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other types of value-based payment, one health system reflected on ways it improved its financial performance. Northwell Health has been part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO for several years, treated nearly 90,000 attributed beneficiaries, earned shared savings…
Why rural hospital finances improved in 2025
Although rural hospitals remain in financially precarious positions, their overall finances improved in 2025. The reasons for this enhancement likely vary by market. The national median operating margin for rural hospitals has improved over the last three years: from -0.1% in 2023, to 1.0% in 2024 and 2.0% in 2025, according to the annual Chartis…