AHA presents Congress with laundry list of requests for budget reconciliation bill

The hospital lobby asked that some of the funding be used to address the ongoing labor shortage, shore up mental health services and address ongoing coverage gaps.

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 3, 2021

Actuaries suggest individual insurance premiums won't see large swings in 2022

There is more information available now about how COVID-19 continues to affect healthcare spending and utilization, unlike the 2021 rate-setting season, and "those impacts are not expected to be material," according to a report.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 3, 2021

Medicare insolvency still expected by 2026, unchanged by COVID-19, trustees say

The forecast is a bit of a bright spot for the otherwise grim financial prospects of the program, as experts worried COVID-19 would result in the fund that finances Medicare Part A running out of money faster than previously expected.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 1, 2021

Hospital lobby urges Congress to extend Medicare cut relief

The cuts, if they go through, will result in an estimated loss of $36 billion in funding in 2022 alone, the Federation of American Hospitals said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 1, 2021

Sutter to pay $90M in largest False Claims Act settlement against a health system for alleged MA fraud

The record payment comes on the heels of another massive settlement for the nonprofit, adding to the hit on its already stressed bottom line.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 31, 2021

Hospitals boost hiring efforts, sweeten employee benefits, survey finds

The findings from employment services firm Aon contrast sharply with this time last year, when widespread shutdowns of nonemergency care led systems to institute furloughs and other cost-cutting measures.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 31, 2021

Cleveland Clinic profitable in Q2 as patients return, but COVID-19 surge hits Florida hospitals

The hospital system's rebound from 2020's pandemic-driven losses accelerated, but its facilities in Florida saw an increase in COVID-19 patients in July and August, with some non-emergency care postponed.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 30, 2021

Swell of COVID-19 cases likely to pressure hospital margins, Fitch says

As hospitalizations overwhelm facilities, operators need more staffing. But workers are in short supply, causing costs for contracted labor to rise. The ratings agency expects staffing shortages to persist into next year.

By Samantha Liss • Aug. 27, 2021

Headspace, Ginger to merge, creating $3B mental health company

As Headspace Health, the two companies will offer support for mental health symptoms from anxiety to depression to more complex diagnoses, selling direct to consumer and to employers and health plans.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 26, 2021

Hospital volume recovery on shaky ground amid delta, Kaufman Hall reports

Outpatient revenues fell 2% in July from the month prior, suggesting patients might again be delaying non-urgent care due to virus concerns.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 25, 2021

Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations costing US healthcare system billions, KFF says

Roughly 113,000 of the 185,000 inpatient stays with a COVID-19 diagnosis, or about 61%, could have been prevented by vaccination in June and July, researchers estimated.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 24, 2021

Mayo Clinic's financials see sharp Q2 rebound

While the report was generally upbeat, the system warned “COVID-19 could still negatively affect the operating margins." And results don't include the late summer surge due to the delta variant that has hammered some regions.

By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 22, 2021

Hospital patient volumes match 2019 levels, will exceed them next year

Hospital executives surveyed by McKinsey also said they will focus on growing surgical volumes — which took a huge hit in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. — but will shift more of them to the outpatient setting.

By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 20, 2021

SSM Health, insurer Medica to launch joint venture

Medica will invest an undisclosed sum in Dean Health Plan, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based SSM Health, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems.

By Samantha Liss • Aug. 19, 2021

Burnout, delta variant boost demand for traveling nurses again

Hospitals are probably paying 10% to 20% more than they were during previous COVID-19 waves for travel nurses, Kathy Kohnke, senior vice president of client relations at Fastaff, said.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 18, 2021

Payments to MA plans raised overall Medicare spend by $7B in 2019, analysis finds

The Kaiser Family Foundation chalked the higher spending up to how MA is paid, including how benchmarks for plan payments are set and the risk adjustment process.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 18, 2021

Providence posts H1 operating loss amid increased labor costs

As more patients returned for care, the Washington state-based system's expenses increased to meet demand and was further stressed by worker shortages.

By Samantha Liss • Aug. 18, 2021

Biden administration invests $19M to bolster rural telehealth

The investments will provide funding to train primary care providers, aid groups delivering virtual care, pilot new telehealth services and research the efficacy of digitally delivered care in rural geographies.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 18, 2021

HHS OIG backs nixing capital cost exemption for new hospitals

Currently, new facilities help pay for their capital costs through a special exemption. An HHS watchdog says Medicare could see significant cost savings if regulators did away with the carveout.

By Samantha Liss • Aug. 17, 2021

Centene awarded Ohio Medicaid contract following $88M settlement

In addition, a subsidiary of Molina has nabbed a Medicaid contract win in Nevada, the payer's first in the state.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 17, 2021

Predicting the future of healthcare: 10 takeaways from HIMSS21

Along with "guarded optimism" on the current state of the pandemic, some 19,000 on-site attendees in Las Vegas mulled what's next for AI, telehealth, cybersecurity, mental health and more.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn , Hailey Mensik • Aug. 13, 2021

Tackling healthcare's female leadership problem at HIMSS21

Women are largely absent from most healthcare companies' C-suites where major decisions are made, despite their massive influence as consumers and workers in the industry.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 12, 2021

Kaiser Permanente's Q2 profit down one-third despite revenue climb

The integrated health system remained in the black for the quarter ending June 30, but rising costs associated with COVID-19 are eating into its bottom line.

By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 10, 2021

Delaware caps hospital price growth to fund more primary care

Gov. John Carney signed the multi-pronged healthcare bill on Friday. "As I think about the things, particularly in healthcare that we focus on, there's not much that's more important than this," he said.

By Samantha Liss • Updated Oct. 5, 2021

Utilization bounced back for payers in Q2, dinging profitability

Patient volumes returned and drove net income down significantly year over year for insurers, which posted record profits during the same time last year when medical care was largely put off.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 6, 2021