FastFinance: Middle class voiding care over costs; Rural funding specified
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. Commercially insured individuals with average incomes are avoiding care at the highest rates because of cost concerns, a recent survey found. Also, this week’s Weird Number: 332,500. That’s the number of…
Middle class avoiding care over cost
Commercially insured individuals with average incomes are avoiding care at the highest rates because of cost concerns, a recent survey found. Households with income between $75K and $90K reported the highest rate of cost-driven care avoidance, with 38% of those patients skipping or postponing medical care because of cost, according to a public survey by…
Workforce leads rural grants
Workforce initiatives garnered the biggest share of $4 billion in federal rural healthcare grants provided by midsummer, according to an analysis. The grants were detailed in a recently released federal report on funding obligated so far through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The report detailed $4 billion out of $10 billion in spending planned…
Why the Democratic health reform fight matters
Ahead of the midterm election, Democrats increasingly are split over whether to push for a federal public option or a “Medicare for All”-type single-payer model. The outcome of the election could determine which side the party comes down on in the next presidential election and drive any subsequent healthcare reform push. The national fight also…
Mark Cuban’s advice for hospitals
Hospitals have many options to improve their finances — but many of them will be uncomfortable, said Mark Cuban. The co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs testifies before legislatures on healthcare reform and regularly discusses ideas with political leaders, senior Trump administration officials and healthcare executives. Cuban bluntly laid out a range of options for hospital…
FastFinance: Investment returns worry; 340B rebate lawsuit
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. For some hospital and health systems, the potential of a coming stock market crash is more worrying than looming policy changes. Also, this week’s Weird Number: 96. That’s how many labor…
Midyear coverage changes: 6 things to know
Enrollment is increasing employer plans and Medicare Advantage (MA), while individual, Medicaid and fully insured plans lost enrollees. A recent Mark Farrah Associates brief assessed year-over-year enrollment trends, comparing membership changes from the second quarter of 2025 to the second quarter of 2026. Here are its leading findings as of June 30.
Market worries overtake policy concerns
For some hospital and health systems, the potential of a coming stock market crash is more worrying than looming policy changes. The market concerns stem from the increasing reliance on investments to make up for uneven operating margins, according to the Marsh (formerly Mercer) “2026 healthcare asset owner survey results.” Many institutions with negative operating…
Complex relationship between maternal unit closures and SDP funds
State-directed payments (SDPs) are credited with maintaining maternal healthcare access. However maternal care units continue to close, despite record SDP funding. Looming cuts to SDPs are widely expected by providers and advisors to result in more maternal care unit closures. But some emerging alternatives aim to improve some access. Maternal care for Medicaid enrollees is…
Fast outpatient shift expected from end of IPO list
The ongoing phaseout of Medicare’s inpatient-only list (IPO) likely will move many of those surgical procedures to outpatient settings with lower reimbursement. That expectation is based on site-of-care shifts that happened when CMS previously removed other surgeries from the IPO list, said Allison Oakes, PhD, chief research officer at Trilliant Health. Medicare removed total knee…