Moody’s downgrades Envision, citing high bankruptcy risk

The private equity-owned physician staffing firm faces a deteriorating operating performance that could deplete its cash by the end of 2023, the rating agency warned.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 26, 2022

NYT investigation finds Providence pressured poor patients to pay

The report raises questions about how much charity care Providence provides. Last year, the health system spent less than 1% of its expenses on free or reduced care for patients.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 26, 2022

Fitch cuts Lifespan’s outlook to negative after weak Q3

The credit rating agency’s downgrade for Rhode Island’s largest health system is another sign of mounting financial pressures on hospitals.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 20, 2022

Humana looks to buy clinics from private equity partner for up to $550M

The insurer is accelerating the expansion of its primary care chain serving Medicare patients.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 19, 2022

Hospitals sending ‘distress flare’ after billions in projected 2022 losses

A Thursday report prepared by Kaufman Hall showed that hospitals are likely to lose billions, driven by an overall expected $135 billion increase in expenses this year, and a $86 billion rise in labor costs alone.

By Sydney Halleman • Sept. 16, 2022

Healthcare industry’s resiliency to surging inflation is poised to ebb

Healthcare costs — unlike other goods and services — haven’t experienced immediate price increases amid record inflation. That’s starting to change.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 15, 2022

Beaumont-Spectrum to cut 400 jobs amid ‘significant’ financial pressure

Nonprofit hospitals' operations are under pressure as they continue to pay for pricier labor despite volumes remaining depressed.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 13, 2022

Rural hospitals face ‘precarious’ outlook as expenses climb, AHA says

Rapidly rising labor, drug and supply costs could trigger another wave of facility closures, the hospital lobby said.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 12, 2022

Future-proofing the physician pipeline post-pandemic: Navigating challenges in residency and reimbursement

What are the trends in reimbursement and how does it impact future physicians? 

Sept. 12, 2022

Physician groups urge CMS to prevent payment cuts, protect telehealth

Multiple groups representing doctors oppose Medicare payment reductions at a time when physician practices face escalating costs.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 7, 2022

Private equity-owned physician groups linked to higher spending in study

The findings could be evidence of overutilization designed to drive up profits, the senior author of the study published in JAMA Health Forum said.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 6, 2022

CVS nabs home healthcare company Signify for $8B following bidding war

CVS beat out rivals Amazon and UnitedHealth in the latest big-ticket deal for a home health company.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 6, 2022

Molina, Elevance nab Iowa Medicaid contracts on heels of California win

Iowa will soon have three health insurers to manage its $7 billion Medicaid program.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 1, 2022

Walgreens completes majority stake acquisition in CareCentrix

Walgreens announced it planned to acquire CareCentrix in October as the retailer looks to bolster its Walgreens Health business segment.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 31, 2022

Higher staffing costs drove Cleveland Clinic’s Q2 loss

The nonprofit health system said salaries, wages and benefits were up nearly 16% from a year ago.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 31, 2022

Healthcare construction spending surges despite soaring expenses

Inflation and supply chain concerns haven't slowed costly healthcare projects.

By Sebastian Obando • Aug. 30, 2022

Hospital margins worse than when pandemic began, report says

Outpatient volumes and surgery times are down, while costly inpatient stays are getting longer, suggesting that patients are sicker, Kaufman Hall said.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 30, 2022

Healthcare cost growth trails overall price hikes amid record inflation

Prices in the U.S. economy grew 8.5% in July compared to last year, while prices for medical care increased just 4.8%, according to a tracker from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Peterson Center on Healthcare.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 25, 2022

Advocate posts H1 loss, sees Atrium merger closing this year

Like many of its peers, the Midwest hospital system faced labor cost pressures and depressed investment income in the first half of 2022.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 24, 2022

Merger with SCL Health spurs Intermountain to $2.7B in net income

The Utah-based nonprofit reported a 46% year-over-year jump in net income for the first six months of the year.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Aug. 24, 2022

Mayo Clinic’s Q2 operating income tumbles as labor costs climb

The system said it is struggling with workforce shortages at a time when its hospitals are operating at near capacity.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 22, 2022

Hospitals are seeing sicker patients after pandemic delays, AHA warns

Rising patient acuity is driving up costs for labor, drugs and supplies and straining finances, the hospital lobby said.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 17, 2022

Providence posts $424M operating loss on heels of restructuring plan

COVID-19 volumes receded and weren’t offset by a rebound in surgeries, while the nonprofit had to rely more heavily on expensive agency staffing in the quarter.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 16, 2022

Mass General Brigham posts $949M net loss, cites ‘unprecedented’ pressures

The Boston-based health system struggled with cost inflation, labor shortages and capacity constraints in its fiscal third quarter.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 16, 2022

Five types of entrepreneurship: meaning and defining characteristics

Entrepreneurs have a unique set of characteristics — which do you bring to the medical field?

Aug. 15, 2022