CARES funding to hospitals hit hard by COVID-19 was unevenly distributed, study finds

Larger academic medical centers received a significantly larger proportion of federal coronavirus relief funds than smaller and more rural hospitals, a study of more than 950 facilities concluded.

By Ron Shinkman • Oct. 22, 2021

HCA revenue jumped nearly 15% in Q3, but labor costs rose

The chain more than tripled its profit in the third quarter. The company turned to overtime, bonuses and "whatever it took to staff to the patient load that we had," CFO Bill Rutherford said.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 22, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Payer/provider relationships

As M&A intensifies and companies embrace more holistic and value-based care models, partnerships have become more closely intertwined.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Ascension, AdventHealth unwind joint venture Amita Health in Chicago

The move is rare in the industry, as hospitals have steadily consolidated over the years, raising serious concerns about a lack of robust competition and the subsequent impact on prices.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 22, 2021

Lyft names new head of healthcare

The ride-hailing giant wants to continue capitalizing on non-emergency medical transportation and said the transition will be instrumental in that expansion, along with finding new use cases in the sector.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 22, 2021

Tenet sees widespread volume recovery, again raises forecast

The for-profit hospital operator reported that visits to its emergency rooms were up a whopping 25% compared with the prior-year period, reaching 97% of pre-pandemic levels.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 21, 2021

Hospitals still struggling to get operations, financials back on track, Kaufman Hall reports

COVID-19 continues to strain providers a year and a half into the pandemic, the poll of hospital leaders finds. Labor and supply costs are a key concern now.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 19, 2021

Microsoft integrates health-specific cloud offering with Cerner EHR

Microsoft is looking to capitalize on healthcare organizations that want to invest in virtual care for the long term.

By Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 19, 2021

What to expect from payer, provider Q3 earnings

The intense volume of COVID-19 patients that came from the delta surge will likely influence winners and losers for the third quarter. Results ramp up this week.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 18, 2021

Zelis helps address new NSA and TiC regulations

Learn more about innovative solutions that can help you comply with new regulations.

Oct. 18, 2021

New York Attorney General sends cease and desist to hospital allegedly using unlicensed temporary staffing agency amid strike

The letter asks the agency to stop providing services to Catholic Health's Mercy Hospital in Buffalo either for employment or security, and to make sure replacement workers do not interfere with the rights of picketers.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 14, 2021

CommonSpirit CEO Lloyd Dean to retire next year

The announcement sets off a search for his successor as the organization heads into its third full fiscal year.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 13, 2021

Hospitals still spending more on PPE, labor as result of COVID-19

Hospitals spent more than $3 billion on personal protective equipment since the start of the pandemic, though costs have steadily declined since peaking last year, according to a Premier analysis.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 13, 2021

Tenet's surgery center buying spree ramps up as it signs deal for 9 more facilities

The deal for a stake in ASCs in Florida, North Carolina and Texas builds on the hospital operator's long-term strategy of expanding that portfolio.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 12, 2021

Kaiser Permanente workers in California vote to authorize strike

The outcome does not mean a strike will start immediately. The results give union leaders the authority to set a strike date so long as they give the required 10-day notice in writing to Kaiser Permanente.

By Samantha Liss • Updated Oct. 11, 2021

The 21st Century Cures Act update: where we've been and where we're going

Learn what's changed and how you can leverage technology and data to shape the healthcare of tomorrow.

Oct. 11, 2021

Optum inks deal with largest health system to date, SSM Health

As part of the agreement, about 2,100 SSM employees across revenue cycle and hospital care management will become Optum employees in an outsourcing deal.

By Rebecca Pifer • Oct. 8, 2021

Hospital M&A in 2021 characterized by fewer but much larger deals

Hospitals are increasingly looking outside traditional care delivery methods threatened by COVID-19 to diversify business models by pursuing stakes in home health, virtual care and post-acute services.

By Shannon Muchmore • Oct. 7, 2021

Voting ends Sunday for Kaiser Permanente union in California to greenlight strike

A strike of this size could cripple operations for Kaiser in southern California. Those 24,000 healthcare workers eligible to vote on a strike represent about 31% of the system's nearly 76,000 employees in that area.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 7, 2021

HCA sells another Georgia hospital, with $637M price tag

The latest deal means the system will no longer have a footprint in the northwest part of the state after completing a divestiture plan of offloading hospitals surrounding the Atlanta area.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 6, 2021

Labor shortages will strain hospital budgets through 2022, Moody's says

The pressure on health system profitability comes as lucrative non-emergency procedures are on hold in some areas to handle incoming COVID-19 inpatients, according to the report.

By Shannon Muchmore • Oct. 6, 2021

Ransomware attacks put availability of medical devices at risk, FDA cyber chief says

Industry reached a "watershed moment" earlier this year when a device outage caused by malware endangered patient lives, Kevin Fu, acting director of cybersecurity at CDRH said. "That was something we haven't seen before."

By Greg Slabodkin • Oct. 4, 2021

How much is too much? OIG warns about booze for doctors in medtech speaker programs

Drug and device makers have spent $2 billion in the past three years on such events, according to OIG. Companies have been required since 2013 to disclose payments to doctors and health systems, made public annually.

By Kim Dixon • Oct. 4, 2021

3 in 10 nurses want to leave their employers, survey shows

Nurses younger than 35 said they were most likely to leave their current job, a particularly troubling trend for providers already under staffing strains.

By Ron Shinkman • Oct. 1, 2021

Over 2,000 workers at Catholic Health hospital in New York wage open-ended strike

The two sides are close to an agreement on measures related to pandemic preparedness and extended sick leave pay, but are still far apart on salary and staffing proposals, according to the union.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated Oct. 12, 2021

Doctors slam surprise billing rule that details dispute resolution process

The interim final rule established that existing rates in a provider's geographic area will be a strong anchor for final payment decisions by arbitrators.

By Shannon Muchmore • Oct. 1, 2021