CMS says surprise billing arbitration can resume for some disputes — others remain on pause

Regulators are continuing to work on new guidance in light of a court decision that ruled against the government and threw a wrench in the third-party process to resolve payment disputes between payers and providers.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 27, 2023

Hospital lobby opposes noncompete ban, says ‘now is not the time to upend’ labor markets

The American Hospital Association is pushing the FTC to abandon its proposal to eliminate restrictive covenants. At the very least, the lobby wants physicians and senior executives exempt.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 24, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Surprise Billing

Federal legislation banning surprise bills has hit a barrage of roadblocks, complicating efforts to protect consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Sutter Health taps first chief consumer, brand officer

Jennifer Bollinger will be the first to serve in the newly created position within nonprofit Sutter Health.

By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 22, 2023

SUNY Upstate, Crouse Health System call off merger

The Federal Trade Commission, which opposed the tie-up, cheered the news on Thursday. Previously, the agency had warned state lawmakers about the dangers of shielding hospital mergers from antitrust enforcement. 

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 17, 2023

Lawmakers stress urgency of healthcare worker shortage

Addressing the education pipeline is one issue legislators can focus on to improve nurse and physician shortages, medical school and health system leaders said during a Senate committee hearing.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 16, 2023

CHS posts 2022 profit dip on heels of cyber breach

The earnings come two days after CHS announced that it experienced a security breach that potentially exposed the health information of 1 million patients.

By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 16, 2023

Louisiana systems hit with lawsuits for allegedly sharing patient data with Facebook

At issue is the hospitals’ use of the “Meta Pixel” website code, which potentially analyzed, gathered and shared the protected medical data of hundreds of thousands of patients, in violation of HIPAA, according to the suit.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 16, 2023

CommonSpirit to acquire 5 Steward hospitals, expanding reach into Utah

The acquisition comes on the heels of a thwarted attempt by HCA to purchase the Utah sites last year. The FTC was successful in its attempt to block the deal after it alleged that it would harm patients.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 16, 2023

CommonSpirit, AdventHealth dissolve joint hospital venture in Colorado, Kansas

The systems said Tuesday that the partnership had reached its “natural maturity.” CommonSpirit and AdventHealth didn’t lay out a timeline for the transition.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 15, 2023

Senator blasts Ascension, alleging it runs like private equity fund rather than nonprofit health system

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said the system “appears to be evaluating each staffing decision, service line, and hospital location as solely a business decision while seeking to bolster cash to put towards its investment funds.”

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 15, 2023

Sanford-Fairview delay merger after push from Minnesota AG

Even with the delay, the attorney general's office alleged that the two systems had not yet fully complied with the office’s repeated requests for information.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 14, 2023

Surgical procedures cost significantly more at hospitals in networks versus independent facilities, study finds

The median price for a shoulder arthroscopy was $4,432 at hospitals within a network, compared to $2,643 at independent hospitals, new research in JAMA Network Open found.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 14, 2023

HHS pauses surprise billing arbitration after Texas court decision

The process by which health insurers and medical providers hash out payments for surprise bills is still in flux due to a series of lawsuits threatening the dispute resolution process.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 13, 2023

Kaiser’s $4.5B loss in 2022 driven by labor expenses, investment losses

Kaiser is the latest non-profit to report annual losses as hospital operators face soaring labor costs, investment losses and rising medical expenses driven by inflation.

By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 13, 2023

Workforce challenges top concern for hospital CEOs for second year in a row, survey finds

Before staffing woes took the top spot last year, financial challenges had previously ranked as the top concern for 16 consecutive years in a survey from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 13, 2023

HHS readies for PHE wind down, end of pandemic flexibilities

A variety of pandemic-era policies will expire May 11, including those allowing providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth without an in-person visit and rules requiring payers to cover COVID-19 testing.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 10, 2023

Tipping point is in sight: Value-based care is driving meaningful financial results

Strata’s Liz Kirk shares her reflections on value-based care based on the 41st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco.

By Liz Kirk • Feb. 10, 2023

Tenet’s net income tumbled in 2022, but labor expenses show signs of easing

The for-profit hospital operator’s profit fell 55% year over year, according to an earnings report out Thursday.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 9, 2023

Top healthcare trends of 2023

Providers and payers are still grappling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the winding down of pandemic-era policies, which will have major effects on hospitals and insurers.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 8, 2023

Judge’s ruling on surprise billing threatens to disrupt arbitration process

The ruling tosses out portions of a final rule and raises questions about the arbitration process providers and payers are currently using to resolve payment disputes related to out-of-network care.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 7, 2023

Intermountain Health taps new chief operating officer

As COO, Berensen will oversee operations across Intermountain’s footprint, which includes 33 hospitals across seven states.

By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 7, 2023

Major hospitals still noncompliant with price transparency rules

No hospitals in HCA Healthcare, Tenet, Providence and UPMC systems were fully compliant with federal price transparency rules, according to a new analysis.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 6, 2023

An inflection point for healthcare

We are at a pivotal moment in the advancement of healthcare. If we act now, we can improve care.

By Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA • Feb. 6, 2023

Healthcare added 58K jobs in January with ambulatory, nursing homes leading gains

The gains are slightly above last year’s average for the sector, which was 47,000 new jobs per month.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 3, 2023

Healthcare industry most common victim of third-party breaches, Black Kite finds

The report comes days after the HHS alerted the sector to a pro-Russian hacktivist group called Killnet, which recently updated its target list to include hospitals and medical organizations in several countries.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 2, 2023