Even with vaccine, Moody's 2021 nonprofit hospital outlook is negative

The ratings agency estimates operating cash flows will drop 10% to 15% next year, versus a prior forecast. It's a more bearish view than its take on the for-profit slice of the sector.

By Ron Shinkman • Dec. 14, 2020

Finance Trend of the Year: Going public

"The wacky aspect of 2020 is we've had tons of uncertainty and we've had a really active IPO market. And I've never seen that in my 30-year career on Wall Street," Davide Ethridge, U.S. IPO services leader at PwC, said.

By Shannon Muchmore • Dec. 9, 2020

Sanford calls off Intermountain merger after CEO mask uproar

The proposed union of regional giants fell apart after Sanford's longtime chief left the company following an email to staff alleging he did not need personal protective equipment because he had immunity to COVID-19.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 7, 2020

MedPAC mulls cautious approach to bumping hospital pay amid pandemic

Commissioners of the influential advisory group seemed largely supportive of the draft recommendation that calls for a base payment increase of 2% for acute care hospitals.

By Samantha Liss • Dec. 7, 2020

Walgreens to launch 40 primary care clinics by third quarter of next year

Locations announced in Arizona, Texas and Florida are part of the retailer's long-term plan to open as many as 700 primary care clinics in more than 30 U.S. cities and metropolitan areas over the next five years.

By Ron Shinkman • Dec. 4, 2020

CMMI rolls out geographic model it calls among 'largest bets on value-based care to date'

The program will enlist direct contracting entities, which can include ACOs, health systems and provider groups or health plans, to take responsibility for the total cost of care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in their region.

By Shannon Muchmore • Dec. 4, 2020

Moody's boosts for-profit hospitals from negative to stable despite expected COVID-19 surge

Pre-pandemic volumes won't return until late 2021 or early 2022, though federal relief funds will continue to buoy earnings, according to the debt ratings agency.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 2, 2020

Tenet names new CEO of flagging Conifer unit

Former Revint CEO Roger Davis will head up the for-profit chain's revenue cycle management subsidiary. He's the fourth in the role in the past 18 months.

By Hailey Mensik • Dec. 1, 2020

Healthcare deals in Q4 expected to fall from record-setting Q3, market research firm predicts

The new report from CB Insights suggests funding is likely to slow as 2020, a year of historic volatility, draws to a close.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 25, 2020

COVID-19 is making it harder for some middle income patients to pay premiums, deductibles: report

The economic impact from COVID-19 could make it harder for workers to pay for their share of employee-sponsored healthcare coverage, a survey from The Commonwealth Fund found.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 24, 2020

Mayo reports healthy Q3 profit, but operations remain under stress

Even amid reports that its Midwest unit saw hundreds of employees test positive for COVID-19, the system touted a patient mortality rate from the virus of 0.71%, compared to 4% nationwide.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 22, 2020

Kaiser Permanente's earnings bump suggests it's weathering COVID-19

Buoyed by tens of billions in revenue from its health plans and fresh investment gains, the nonprofit appears to be managing the coronavirus crisis better than many of its counterparts that solely operate hospitals.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 20, 2020

Banking on acuity: Tenet, UHS execs optimistic about Q4

"On balance, we're not feeling the type of pressure we were feeling in the early days, where you don't entirely know what you're fighting," Tenet CEO Ron Rittenmeyer said this week at Wolfe Research's virtual healthcare conference.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 20, 2020

Primary care docs note equipment shortages, worsening patient health amid pandemic

Physicians are also struggling to replace practice members and fill open positions, according to a new survey from the Larry A. Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 17, 2020

Hospitals across US cancel elective procedures — again

Health systems have had to curtail, pause or halt nonemergency services when faced with ICUs at capacity and resources all but maxed out.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated Nov. 18, 2020

Despite COVID-19, CommonSpirit Health reports $800M quarterly profit

The nation's biggest Catholic system is dealing with a significant increase in supply costs to treat patients infected by the virus, but still eked out a 7.7% increase in operating revenues compared to the same period last year.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 15, 2020

In first report since IPO, Amwell sees revenue up 80% year over year

Total visits in the quarter for the Boston-based vendor were more than 1.4 million, up 455% from a year ago, but slightly down sequentially. Amwell went public in September with a hefty investment from Google.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 13, 2020

Payers saw volumes bounce back in Q3, say COVID-19 still volatile

Companies warned tailwinds may not last as people seek previously deferred care in the fourth quarter and into next year.

Nov. 11, 2020

Primary care networks One Medical, Oak Street Health report Q3 revenue jumps

COVID-19 has proved a major headwind for providers in 2020, but the third quarter is somewhat of a bright spot for medical networks, which were also helped by the employer return-to-work push.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 11, 2020

COVID-19 could depress 2021 Medicare Advantage payments, analysis suggests

Consultancy Avalere also warned that MA plans should brace for dealing with chronically ill enrollees whose health has declined due to foregoing care during the pandemic and could require more services in the long term.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 9, 2020

Intermountain sells supply chain management business to Vizient

The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, is likely intended to streamline the operations of the dominant hospital operator and health insurer in Utah.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 6, 2020

CVS' Merlo to depart, replaced by veteran payer exec Karen Lynch

The company beat Wall Street expectations with revenue of $67 billion in the third quarter, up 3.5% year over year as its diversified book of business helped blunt the impact of coronavirus-related headwinds.

By Rebecca Pifer • Nov. 6, 2020

Biden faces a divided Congress, stifling chance for more progressive health policies

Former Vice President Joe Biden won the U.S. presidency, the Associated Press and all the major networks said, after votes were tallied in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

By Shannon Muchmore • Updated Nov. 7, 2020

Roadmap for keeping electives up amid COVID-19 surges laid out

The key is the use of predictive modeling in developing a clinical decision support tool to determine factors like patient length of stay and use of a ventilator, according to research in JAMA Network Open.

By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 2, 2020

Healthcare Dive's 2020 election coverage

The outcome of the presidential race and control of the Senate were still unknown. Polling showed healthcare issues were top of mind for many as they cast their vote.

Nov. 2, 2020