Health systems CFOs are spending more time on cost management and operations and less time on strategy and cash management than they were in 2021, according to a report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association and Eliciting Insights. 

The hospitals that have been fined for price transparency violations came into compliance within three months of the penalties being levied against them, CMS data shows. 

The Lown Institute, a nonpartisan healthcare think tank, released a new report March 26 examining the finances of more than 2,400 nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. 

SCP Health, a clinical services provider for hospital medicine, emergency medicine and critical care services, is set to assume control of all hospitalist employees from Ascension Illinois by June 1st, a spokesperson for Ascension told Becker's. 

Stoughton, Mass.-based New England Sinai Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital owned by Steward Health Care, has closed. 

CFOs have mixed opinions on how artificial intelligence will affect the finances of their respective health systems, according to a report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association and Eliciting Insights.  

Hospitals and health systems are spending an estimated $19.7 billion per year to fight denied claims, according to a March 21 report from healthcare solutions company Premier. 

On average, hospitals with solid financial results improved their results throughout the pandemic, while hospitals with poor financial performances saw their results worsen, Kaufman Hall wrote in a recent analysis.

Mercy Health-Fairfield (Ohio) Hospital, part of Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, is closing its labor and delivery services and transferring them to Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital and Mercy Health-West Hospital, both in Cincinnati, effective May 1.

President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package March 23, averting a partial government shutdown and funding federal agencies for the next six months. 

Over 100 hospitals, health systems and providers signed on to a call for CMS to do more on Medicare Advantage denials. 

St. Louis-based SSM Health reported a $58.5 million operating loss (0.6% margin) in 2023, an 76% improvement on the $248.9 million loss (2.7% margin) in the previous year.

"Onerous" authorization requirements and high denial rates have health systems considering whether to drop Medicare Advantage plans, according to a report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association and Eliciting Insights. 

Health system CFOs spend nearly a quarter of their time on revenue cycle management, according to a report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association and Eliciting Insights. 

Here are seven health systems that have had their credit ratings upgraded by Fitch Ratings or Moody's Investor Services in 2024:

Chippewa Falls, Wis.-based St. Joseph's Hospital and Eau Claire, Wis.-based Sacred Heart Hospital, both part of Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System, have closed, a spokesperson for HSHS confirmed with Becker's on March 22. 

Obstetrics and delivery services are one of the leading money losers of all hospital services, and a growing number of rural hospitals are closing obstetric departments to protect the financial viability of the overall enterprise, according to a recent analysis by Kaufman Hall. 

Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital failed to satisfy all the statutory requirements to remain in Chapter 9 bankruptcy, according to a March 21 Bankruptcy Court ruling.

Debra Thomas, senior vice president and CFO of the East Florida Division at AdventHealth, sees a big opportunity to transform her finance team in the coming years as the healthcare delivery system evolves.

The House and Senate Appropriations committees have released the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which would fund all remaining federal agencies through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.