Hospital M&A forecast to increase in 2025
Hospitals are expected to see an increase in mergers and acquisitions in 2025, with non-hospital deals likely to grow faster, according to Anu Singh, managing director for Kaufman Hall.
Ransomware attacks cost healthcare organizations $21.9 billion in downtime
Healthcare organizations lost a cumulative $21.9 billion just in downtime following a ransomware attack over the last six years, an average of $1.9 million daily, according to a recent analysis. The report by software company Comparitech, which studies cyberattacks across various industries, used available data on downtime and ransom amounts to estimate a range for…
More Medicare Advantage contracting, risk expansion in 2025 for health systems: poll
Contrary to high-profile exceptions, in 2025, health systems plan expanded contracting with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and taking on more downside payment risk, according to a recent survey. For 2025, a greater share of health systems plan to add more MA contracts (23%) than plan to have fewer MA plan contracts (17%), according to a…
Will all hospitals soon have to report their 340B revenue?
Minnesota hospitals have been required to publicly report their revenue from the 340B discount drug program, which has been described as a significant underestimate, and other states are likely to follow suit.
Hospital executives optimistic that marketplace subsidies and Medicaid supplements will endure
Financial concerns of hospital executives following the recent federal election’s outcomes centered on the fate of expiring individual market subsidies and Medicaid supplemental payments. However, executives were optimistic that both types of financial support for health systems would endure. At a post-election finance conference, Michael Marks, CFO and executive vice president of HCA Healthcare —…
One payer argues for more provider risk amid record high hospital volumes: Q&A
In January, two parts of Highmark Health — Allegheny Health Network (the provider) and Highmark (the insurer) — implemented a risk-based payment model for all of Highmark’s commercially insured groups and Medicare Advantage (MA) populations, as well as many of its Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. Bruce Meyer, MD, executive vice president and Western Pennsylvania…
Rising underinsurance ratchets pressure on hospitals
The number of underinsured working-age adults in the United States has soared over the past 14 years — reaching 23% this year. And that is adding stress to hospital finances. The share of underinsured was identified in a November survey by the Commonwealth Fund, which also found: The shares of underinsured and uninsured have flipped…
Medicaid directed payments draw scrutiny, potential changes
As annual Medicaid state-directed payments (SDPs) exceed $100 billion annually, congressional advisers are calling for transparency, while critics emphasizing the need for change. Medicaid SDPs, which primarily benefit hospitals, have surged both in their number and total spending, according to a recent staff report from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). In…
Medicare Advantage risk payment soars as hospitals left behind
Medicare Advantage (MA) has extended its payer-leading shift to downside risk but that appears to still exclude most hospitals. As of 2023, MA plans have tied 43% of payments to downside risk, which increased from 29% in 2020, according to the latest tracking from the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (HCP-LAN). That MA…
Two-midnight inpatient volume effect may be permanent
A boost in inpatient admissions earlier this year was expected to subside as payers clamped down but that volume shift increasingly looks permanent. Earlier in 2024, both payers and health systems reported increases in inpatient admissions — primarily among Medicare Advantage (MA) patients — following Medicare’s application of long-standing two-midnight requirements to those plans. But…