The February consumer price index, a gauge for inflation, rose by 0.4 percent, putting the annual inflation rate at 6 percent, CNBC reported March 14.

Gastonia, N.C.-based CaroMont Health continues to enjoy a "AA-" rating on various bonds amid a healthy financial profile and robust market share in a competitive region, S&P Global said March 10.

Tax exemptions for nonprofit hospitals amounted to $27.6 billion in value for 2020, according to new data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

The American Hospital Association is urging CMS to finalize its proposed rule for reforming the prior authorization process but has suggested some changes, including shortening the amount of time payers have to make a determination. 

Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital, part of Mountain Health Network, will close its CHH Surgery Center, effective April 28, and phase out its home health services over the next 90 days to better align its resources and reduce costs amid financial headwinds.

Miami-based Baptist Health South Florida, a 12-hospital system, has had its rating on various bonds affirmed at "AA-" as it enjoys a growing market share and a healthy financial profile, S&P Global said March 10.

Proposed legislation aimed at reducing healthcare costs in Connecticut is facing hurdles as hospitals disagree with the governor's approach on how to do so, according to a March 13 CT Mirror report.

Massachusetts hospitals spent $1.3 billion more on temporary staffing in fiscal 2022 than they did in pre-pandemic times, according to a March 13 Commonwealth Magazine report.

Less than three months after closing its doors, Madera (Calif.) Community Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy March 10 — a last resort it had been holding out on as it explored other ways to restore operations. 

Springfield, Pa.-based Crozer Health and its parent company Prospect Medical Holdings' struggles to pay vendors has led to service and supply delays at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., NPR affiliate WHYY reported March 14. 

Attributing it to a "herculean" team effort, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital interim CEO Mary Casillas said the Hollister, Calif.-based hospital now has enough funds to operate through late summer. 

Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported a slight increase in its operating income for the final three months of 2022, notching $51.6 million in the period as revenues grew 14.6 percent over the same period in 2021.

Baltimore-based Mercy Health Services saw the outlook on a series of its bonds upgraded to positive from stable amid what S&P Global called March 10 a "consistently healthy operating performance."

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults with past-due medical bills owe at least some of that debt to hospitals, according to a March 13 report from the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Better off hospital and health systems in Colorado may have benefited disproportionately from federal relief funds during the pandemic compared with their poorer rural counterparts, according to a March 12 report in The Gazette.

The University of Minnesota board of regents has approved a legislative request to fund the reacquisition and initial operations of the university's healthcare facilities on its Minneapolis campus.

Silicon Valley Bank was shut down March 10 after it failed to raise capital to keep running. The federal government stepped in to protect depositors and restore faith in the nation's banking system.

A $750 million plan to replace West Tennessee's only level 1 trauma center will require $350 million in local funds, NBC affiliate WMC reported March 8. 

The financially troubled Madera (Calif.) Community Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy March 10, according to KVPR, the San Joaquin Valley's NPR station.

St. Louis-based Ascension will focus some of its future investment in outpatient services, reflecting a nationwide trend in a shift from inpatient care.