Some Massachusetts hospital leaders are expressing concerns about proposed healthcare legislation that would address surprise medical bills, limit when hospitals can charge a facility fee at a hospital outpatient department and require hospitals and insurers to increase spending on behavioral health and primary care, according to The Boston Globe.

U.S. senators have introduced legislation they say would "fix a glitch" in the Medicare formula used to reimburse rural providers in ACOs.

Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health has filed an application to reopen Lee County Community Hospital with a critical access hospital designation.

Hospitals in Philadelphia have seen emergency department visits and inpatient admissions climb amid this year's closure of Hahnemann University Hospital, healthcare officials confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System lost $2 million more than it anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, CFO Britt Tabor reported this week, according to a health system email to Becker's Hospital Review.

Forty-seven percent of hospital executives said that rising salaries and wage inflation are putting the most pressure on their organization's efforts to cut expenses, according to a new Kaufman Hall and Healthcare Financial Management Association survey.

The ability of Massena (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital to remain open hinges on a Nov. 5 referendum vote, according to North Country News. 

Major U.S. health systems on average saw better operating margins last year, but many organizations still have work to do to surpass 2015 levels, according to an analysis from global professional services firm Navigant.

Arlington-based Texas Health Resources said it accidentally mailed patient information in a billing error, affecting about 82,000 patients, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 21, about 17 months after being divested by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health's application to close MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, Ill., on Oct. 22.

University Physician Group, which does business as Wayne State University Physician Group, has paid off its unsecured creditors, the final step in the group's exit from bankruptcy, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Hospitals and health systems are taking cost transformation more seriously as they grapple with revenue and expense pressures, according to a Kaufman Hall/Healthcare Financial Management Association survey.

Eighty-six percent of Americans report that cost negatively impacts patient care, with 72 percent reporting that the wait for insurance pre-approvals also negatively affects care, according to the Physicians Foundation's 2019 Survey of America's Patients.

Lobbying group Physicians for Fair Coverage spent $4.1 million this summer on a campaign against legislation that would ban hospitals from billing patients for surprise out-of-network charges, The Hill reports.

In an opinion piece published by the Tampa Bay Times Oct. 21, a policy expert argued the U.S. Senate's proposed Lower Health Care Costs Act would harm patients and physicians.

Local elected officials speculate Bayonne (N.J.) Medical Center is at risk of being sold and closed, according to ABC affiliate WABC-TV.

Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago is scaling back services and reducing its bed count amid financial challenges, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health, a 44-bed psychiatric hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., abruptly closed Oct. 18, leaving more than 300 employees without jobs, according to The Palm Beach Post.

Below are 10 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking CFOs in the last week.