Trump administration affordability push features SDP cuts
Voters are demanding action to improve healthcare affordability ahead of the midterm elections. The Trump administration sees an aggressive push on state-directed payments (SDPs) as a way to respond to that demand. This year, healthcare affordability and availability were the most important issues to Americans for the first time since 2020, according to Gallup polling.…
Uncompensated care improvement uneven
Uncompensated care costs at hospitals have improved somewhat since their spring peak but the national trend wasn’t seen in all regions. Hospitals had smaller year-over year (YoY) increases in their bad debt and charity care as a percentage of gross operating revenue. Those decreased from a 7% jump in May to a 5% increase in…
SDP cuts will start with $8.7 billion in 2028: study
Federal cuts in state-directed payments (SDPs) will begin with an $8.7 billion cut in January 2028, according to a new study. The research, which was published Sept. 9 in the journal Health Affairs, examined the impact on state finances of federal SDP cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The cut in…
FastFinance: Physician unions and rural hospital funding
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. Physician union activity is picking up this year, including at an unexpected health system. What’s driving it? Also, this week’s Weird Number: $2.5 million. That’s the average annual cost per hospital…
Rural funds roll out amid small hospital paperwork challenges
The first rounds of federal funding for rural healthcare improvement are rolling from the federal government to the states to distribute to their hospitals and other awardees. For some independent rural hospitals, the lack of administrative staff created paperwork obstacles to those funds. The first $10 billion of a five-year, $50 billion total in grants…
Physician union drive picks up steam
Physician unionization efforts have expanded this year from a previous focus on those in training to established clinicians. The latest physician unionization actions included: “The worrisome aspect of this developing trend is that it seems to be accelerating,” Chris Cimino, CEO at Chessboard Consulting Inc. and a hospital labor advisor, said about physician unionization. A…
340B policies in OPPS rule draw hospital concerns
A proposed cut in Medicare payments for 340B drugs and an acceleration in repayments related to a previous 340B cut are leading concerns for some hospitals and health systems. The two 340B policies in the proposed rule for the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) were among a range of provisions in the 299-page rule issued…
12 hospital M&A trends to know
An increasing number of hospitals targeted by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is one of several consolidation trends recently identified by a tracking firm. The LevinPro HC U.S. Hospital M&A: Quarterly Activity report, issued July 30, identified a range of healthcare deal trends. Here are the top 12 findings:
FastFinance: Health system OBBBA effects, DSH court ruling
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. A seven-state health system has garnered federal rural funding under the 2025 federal healthcare overhaul, even as it prepares for adverse impacts next year. Also, this week’s Weird Number: $1.8 trillion.…
Health system sees early OBBBA benefits, coming challenges
A seven-state health system has garnered federal rural funding under the 2025 federal healthcare overhaul, even as it prepares for adverse impacts next year. Nick Olson, executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of Sanford Health, said the health system has garnered $36 million in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding to use as startup capital…