Amid positive signs financially, hospitals continue to grapple with high costs in labor and other areas
The latest financial metrics for the hospital sector reflect a period of increasing stability but also sustained challenges. August financial data from more than 1,300 hospitals, as reported by Syntellis Performance Solutions, showed improvements in key metrics. The month-over-month increase in median operating margin was 3.5 percentage points, helping the year-to-date margin rise to 1.4%…
Healthcare labor union activity gains steam: The consequences for hospitals and health systems
Note: The lead section of this article was updated Oct. 16 with news of a tentative agreement between Kaiser Permanente and the unions. When around 75,000 staff at Kaiser Permanente went on strike for three days starting Oct. 4, they represented more than just the largest-ever labor stoppage in the healthcare industry. They also exemplified…
Susan Dentzer: Is consolidation in healthcare the work of modern-day robber barons — or the result of overdue reengineering?
The most successful industrialists of America’s Gilded Age were often skewered by contemporary critics as being robber barons. A new generation of naysayers wants to recycle the old rhetoric, this time targeting organizations focused on healthcare: The critics’ clear message: Big money is helping healthcare get bigger, and it’s a bad deal all around. Many…
News Briefs: Reports quantify how cost increases will affect the healthcare industry in 2024
The cost to treat patients will accelerate in the upcoming year, according to newly published projections. PwC’s Health Research Institute reported that the cost of providing care will increase by 7%, up from a 6% increase this year and 5.5% in 2022. A 7% increase would tie 2021 for the highest annual change in the…
Risky business: What every CFO should know before taking on risk
As a health system leader, how can you ensure your organization is making the right moves to take on risk in an evolving landscape for payment? Check out a handful of key capabilities to focus on in this article.
New approaches to nonclinical workforce management
Five healthcare leaders in revenue cycle management and patient access share their approach to workforce management in a remote and/or hybrid model and lessons learned along the way.
Summary: 10 vital responses to healthcare disruption
Note: This article is a summary of a report on HFMA’s Spring Thought Leadership Retreat. The full report is available to download. Disruption is reverberating throughout the healthcare industry, and it’s incumbent on legacy organizations to develop strategic responses for the benefit of their consumers, their communities and themselves. With that overarching challenge becoming ever…
Key questions for providers after more than 2 years of the price transparency rule
Evidence amassed from over two years of experience with compliance reinforces why providers need to focus on chargemaster prices and self-pay discount policies — and how they can benefit from analyzing trends in consumers’ price searches.
HFMA, Selat/Nawa and KSA Ministry of Health collaborate on one-day educational event in Riyadh
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) is offering a new international educational opportunity with a one-day healthcare finance event, at the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh on Oct. 31. Selat, a Riyadh-based revenue cycle management consulting firm and its training arm Nawa, is the exclusive sponsor of the event and will also provide instruction during…
The latest on hospital finances: Signs of improvement, but margins remain tight
Industry-level hospital financial insights reflect the mixed results of a recovery that’s in progress but is expected to be a long slog. In a 2023 midyear report (login required), Moody’s Investors Service noted that margins are below 3% for a third of the company’s rated hospitals. Before the pandemic, only about 6% had margins in…