Could coronavirus derail the decades-long shift to value-based care?

"This is not about managing a population. This is about doing everything you can to keep these people alive," Dean Ungar, vice president of Moody's Investors Service, said.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 15, 2020

Hospital CARES funding not quite 'no strings attached'

Chains like Tenet and CHS can expect to see the biggest benefit in relation to profitability as providers start to receive the first $30 billion of the $100 billion allocated, according to Jefferies analysts.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 14, 2020

AMA, other doc groups seek piece of CARES act funding

The doctors lobby, along with groups representing cardiologists, dermatologists and a range of other specialties, urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar to provide immediate aid "to support them against financial peril while they put their lives and businesses at risk."

By Hailey Mensik • April 9, 2020

Rural hospital closure fears mount as COVID-19 financially strains health systems

Forty states have at least one rural hospital at high financial risk of closure, according to a new Guidehouse report.

By Hailey Mensik • April 9, 2020

Hospital costs to treat uninsured COVID-19 patients could top $40B

The Kaiser Family Foundation analysis is another indication that more funding will be needed to keep the U.S healthcare system running as it faces the unprecedented crisis.

By Shannon Muchmore , Hailey Mensik • April 8, 2020

COVID-19's public health crisis could also be a financial disaster for hospitals

Most systems already operate on relatively thin margins, with little room to handle a downswing, much less the pandemic that has now caused more deaths in the U.S. than any other nation.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 8, 2020

Digital health rakes in record $3.1B in Q1, but COVID-19 slump could loom

"Though some of the economic blow will be tempered by demand for connected healthcare, we do not anticipate investment activity to keep pace with Q1 levels in the coming months," according to the new Rock Health report.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 7, 2020

Hospital M&A was normal in Q1, but Kaufman Hall says that will change

Deals essentially died down by the middle of last month, and first quarter performance "will be an uncertain predictor of activity for the remainder of 2020," according to a new report.

By Ron Shinkman • April 6, 2020

VA pauses Cerner EHR implementation — again — amid COVID-19

It's the second delay this year of the multi-billion dollar project, and the latest in a stop-and-go effort to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic records system.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 6, 2020

Commercial labs push for piece of $100B coronavirus relief

The clinical labs trade group, representing LabCorp and Quest, wants HHS to allocate CARES Act money for expenses or lost revenue related to COVID-19. But there's strong competition from healthcare providers also hurting financially.

By Greg Slabodkin • April 6, 2020

Quorum files for bankruptcy

The CHS spinoff had warned the action might be necessary after years of flagging financial performance. The system has entered into a restructuring agreement with terms to reduce its debt by about $500 million.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated April 7, 2020

HHS to divert some of $100B hospital COVID-19 funding to uninsured

AHA seemed to object to the order, saying funding to treat the uninsured should come from new legislation or an emergency program as the $100 billion for them "was intended to provide hospitals with an infusion of emergency relief."

By Shannon Muchmore • Updated April 6, 2020

Health jobs plummeted in March despite rising need for healthcare workers

Dentist's offices shed 17,000 jobs, doctor's offices lost 12,000 and other healthcare practitioners lost 7,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 3, 2020

Tenet pulls 2020 guidance in wake of COVID-19 impact

The for-profit hospital chain said its system is not currently overwhelmed but has rescheduled "a substantial amount" of elective procedures and closed or reduced hours at ambulatory surgery and outpatient centers.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 2, 2020

AHA wants private payers to do more to help hospitals fight COVID-19. Payers say they've done a lot already

"We are working hard to offer billions of dollars of additional resources and enhanced coverage," AHIP SVP of Communications Kristine Grow told Healthcare Dive. "But these resources are not infinite."

By Rebecca Pifer • April 2, 2020

AHA seeks $25K per hospital bed from emergency COVID-19 fund

The unprecedented package signed late last week gave wide discretion to HHS for how the $100 billion to health systems would be divided and sent to providers.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 1, 2020

Cleveland Clinic mum on COVID-19 hit, reports jump in 2019 operating income

The health system tallied across the board increases in inpatient admissions, surgical cases and emergency room visits for the year.

By Samantha Liss • March 31, 2020

'What about us?': Frontline primary care practices fear for survival amid coronavirus

Independent practices have resisted selling to hospitals amid years of provider consolidation, reimbursement cuts and more, leaving them with razor-thin margins. Now, they worry COVID-19 could send them off the financial cliff.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 26, 2020

Trump signs $2T stimulus package, clearing $100B for struggling hospitals

The bill, the largest piece of emergency aid in U.S. history, was cleared by the House of Representatives earlier on Friday.

By Samantha Liss • Updated March 27, 2020

Community health centers get $100M for COVID-19 response

Advocacy groups for community health centers welcomed the desperately needed funding, but said it's not nearly enough.

By Hailey Mensik • March 25, 2020

Even with billions from Congress, hospitals set to lose over $1K per COVID-19 case

Those hits, coupled with the loss of lucrative elective procedures — which most hospitals have halted amid the outbreak — could be catastrophic for facilities, especially those in rural areas and with little cash on hand.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 25, 2020

Coronavirus could hike premiums by double digits next year

Payers, smack dab in the middle of rate-setting for 2021, could increase premiums from 4% to more than 40% if they aim to recoup all COVID-19 costs and protect solvency, California actuaries say.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 25, 2020

Kaiser Permanente shelves $900M headquarters build

The integrated healthcare giant planned to build a 29-floor, 1.6 million-square-foot tower in what would have been Oakland's largest commercial project. The decision to stop the project was not related to COVID-19, officials said.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 25, 2020

As Congress gains ground on stimulus, healthcare workers ask people to stay home

President Donald Trump, however, said he wanted the nation to be "opened up" by Easter, despite strong advice from public health experts that the U.S. continue social distancing efforts.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 25, 2020

Ratings agencies issue foreboding reports on hospital finances as AHA seeks $100B to respond to COVID-19

"While the healthcare sector has responded extremely well to past crises, the scale of the coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented," Fitch Ratings warned.

By Ron Shinkman • March 20, 2020