A Colorado bill blocking hospitals from pursuing debt collections if they don't post their prices online is heading to Gov. Jared Polis' desk, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported May 3.

Phoenix-based Banner Health has invested in Atlas Healthcare Partners, a group that develops and manages ambulatory surgery centers with health systems and physicians.

States are looking at ways to improve the prior authorization process for providers, including "gold card" exemptions. 

Out of 2,176 rural hospitals, 441 face three or more risk factors, putting them at risk of service reduction or closure, according to a May 4 Bipartisan Policy Center report. 

Several healthcare organizations have decided to outsource finance jobs or other revenue cycle functions since Jan. 1:

John R. Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., has been trying to become an enhanced safety-net hospital for several years, but just barely misses the criteria, The Buffalo News reported May 3.

Five months since the December 2021 launch of Louisville, Ky.-based ScionHealth, the new system has been presented with several learning opportunities as it focuses on a smooth transition into its own organization, CFO Joel Day told Becker's.

Nine hospitals and health systems recently posted job listings seeking revenue cycle management expertise.

Health insurance plans will be required to post their negotiated rates beginning in July, and hospitals are already required to do so, according to the Harvard Business Review. 

The ending of federal program funds for COVID-19 relief is threatening uninsured patients who delayed care, as well as financially struggling safety-net hospitals that provide uncompensated care, The New York Times reported May 1.

Below are 10 hospitals and health systems that recently posted job listings seeking CFOs.

Miami-based Nicklaus Children's Health System is transitioning all revenue cycle management operations to Ensemble Health Partners. 

People with medical debt often fall into a downward financial spiral, three Yale Medical School academics said in a May 2 opinion piece for Health Affairs.

CMS issued no additional warning notices to hospitals noncompliant with its price transparency regulations in April, CMS told Becker's. About 345 notices have been sent to hospitals since the rule went into effect Jan. 1, 2021.

The median hospital operating margin remained negative for the third consecutive month in March, suggesting a long road ahead for hospitals, according to Kaufman Hall's "National Hospital Flash Report: April 2022" posted May 2. 

Optum will handle UnitedHealthcare Plans' prior authorization requests for non-oncology injectable medications starting Aug. 1.

St. Louis-based Ascension reported higher expenses in the three months ended March 31 and ended the quarter with a loss, according to financial documents filed April 29. 

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health recorded a stronger financial performance in 2021 after it called 2020 one of the "toughest financial years" in the organization's 100-year history.

Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health reported a net loss of $358.54 million for the first quarter of 2022 as its labor expenses soared, according to its financial results released April 28. The system had a net income of $330.5 million for the same period last year.

California hospitals continued to face financial losses during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 19 report from Kaufman Hall.