After hospital volumes plummeted due to COVID-19, full rebound not likely soon

Researchers writing in JAMA Internal Medicine suggested patients may be avoiding the hospital or may have lost health insurance as a result of the economic fallout from the pandemic.

By Ron Shinkman • Oct. 26, 2020

Supply chain pains: How Geisinger, Sutter and Intermountain are prepping for flu season

"I'll be frank with you, we are concerned," John Wright of Intermountain Healthcare said. "We have concerns just in our manufacturers' abilities to keep up with demand on a global basis. Because it's a global issue."

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 26, 2020

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Provider burnout

Hospitals are still struggling with provider burnout, after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated underlying staffing issues and prompted workers to quit their jobs.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Intermountain, Sanford Health ink merger deal

The union would create a 70-hospital system with more than $13 billion in revenue. M&A activity has not been much deterred despite the pandemic.

By Samantha Liss • Updated Oct. 27, 2020

COVID-19 cases could be 5% of 2021 admissions, HCA says amid rising Q3 profits

The hospital giant reported profit of $668 million in the third quarter, up 9% from the same time last year. Results come weeks after it said it would return millions in government grants early and as COVID-19 surges in key markets.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 26, 2020

AHA, AMA ask Congress to extend suspension of Medicare sequester

The 2% payment cut was suspended under the CARES Act, but providers say the ongoing financial pain they are feeling due to the COVID-19 pandemic means it should continue to be on hold well into next year.

By Ron Shinkman • Oct. 23, 2020

8 hospital megaprojects in the US

Most of these $1 billion-plus projects were planned before the pandemic. The list includes a $3.4 billion expansion of a Philadelphia children's hospital.

By Zachary Phillips • Oct. 23, 2020

HHS walks back CARES fund reporting requirement hospitals feared

The department said it had earlier concerns that some providers would wind up more profitable than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Samantha Liss • Updated Oct. 23, 2020

Envision, Cigna avert out-of-network status in Florida

A deal between the private equity-backed staffing group and insurer ensures that thousands of clinicians remain in network during a deadly pandemic, averting potential for surprise medical bills.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 22, 2020

'In many ways more challenging:' Tenet loses $197M in COVID-19-slammed Q3

Strong results in Tenet's ambulatory and Conifer segment offset a worse-than-expected hospital segment performance. The chain was also surprised by a Trump administration methodology change for reporting CARES funding.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 21, 2020

From back-to-work to telehealth to retail rebranding: HLTH 2020 takeaways

Trump administration officials also provided an update on value-based care models, teased details of the coronavirus vaccine's approval and hinted at a coming reimbursement plan.

Oct. 21, 2020

Providers' rocky road to recovery could last into 2022

About 20% of hospital executives told Kaufman Hall they were "extremely concerned" about their financial viability, as the Midwest reports rising COVID-19 caseloads and providers prep for the pandemic to collide with flu season.

By Shannon Muchmore • Oct. 20, 2020

After COVID-19 spurred a boom in telehealth, systems mull how to sustain momentum

An annual survey of providers from the Center for Connected Medicine and Klas Research found a focus on integration and security, but fears about the uncertain reimbursement landscape.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 20, 2020

How Banner Health is using AI to keep electives going

The major Arizona nonprofit is using big data and machine learning to help care teams and patients make decisions about when to go forward with care. It argues strict mandates aren't needed.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 19, 2020

Retail's role, focus on equity, value-based pay amid COVID-19: takeaways from HLTH 2020

Back-to-work products, coronavirus vaccine distribution and telehealth ROI were also hot topics at the conference's third year.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 19, 2020

CommonSpirit to link physical, behavioral health with Concert deal: HLTH 2020

The goal of the partnership is to expand access to healthcare, especially in underserved communities, as racial disparities and inequitable patient outcomes come into focus during COVID-19, CEO Lloyd Dean said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 15, 2020

Hospitals warn of 'devastating' impact from CARES funds reporting change

The problem centers on how the agency is now defining "lost revenue." AHA bashed the change as "simply unfair and unrealistic" and added it would create an "administrative and accounting disaster."

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 14, 2020

Trinity sees red ink, but mixed bag of results, in grappling with COVID-19

The pandemic pushed the Michigan-based system to a $34.5 million net deficit in fiscal 2020, a stark contrast to the $834 million surplus it posted in the prior fiscal year. Still, some measures improved, including days of cash on hand.

By Ron Shinkman • Oct. 13, 2020

Kaiser CEO promises strategic shift to stronger focus on equity: HLTH 2020

Greg Adams said the California-based nonprofit plans to bring ethnicity and race factors into how it evaluates quality and care, speaking Monday at the virtual conference. The board is still figuring out what that means in practice.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 13, 2020

Pediatric hospitals face 'double whammy,' not spared from COVID-19 effects

The facilities had to shut down many services amid the pandemic and saw few coronavirus patients. Now they face squeezed Medicaid budgets.

By Samantha Liss • Oct. 12, 2020

Changed fortunes: Under scrutiny, health plans should show their value now

It's time to reinvest and double down on the things that will propel health plans into the future.

By Peter Manoogian • Oct. 12, 2020

In surprise move, HCA to return all $6B in COVID-19 federal aid

The biggest for-profit chain also predicted third quarter revenue up 5% to $13.3 billion, even amid a coronavirus-spurred drop in volume.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 9, 2020

Lyft integrates with Epic, exponentially growing NEMT reach

The ridehailing app's deal with the biggest EHR vendor in the country comes about a year after rival Uber announced a similar partnership with Cerner.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 8, 2020

HHS says hospitals must now report flu data as well as COVID-19 numbers

Facilities will have 14 weeks to comply with the requirement that will inform distribution of treatment and supplies as public health officials worry about a dangerous clash of flu season and the pandemic.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 7, 2020

COVID-19 may be speeding up hospital M&A, analysis finds

A report from Kaufman Hall finds deal activity up significantly in the third quarter. It comes as talks over federal relief funds for providers collapsed.

By Shannon Muchmore • Oct. 7, 2020

Citing COVID-19, providers push back on CMS payment rule rate cuts, telehealth rollback in 2021

The AMA and AHA are among those lobbying hard against any payment reduction amid the pandemic. Stakeholders also spoke out against rolling back coverage of audio-only virtual visits and nixing the inpatient-only list.

By Hailey Mensik • Oct. 6, 2020