The Nebraska Hospital Association is issuing a three-point plan to protect its rural hospitals from closures and cutbacks, News Channel Nebraska reported Jan. 31. 

Boston-based Mass General Brigham, which earlier this month said it would introduce a number of cost-cutting measures, reported an audited net loss of over $2 billion in fiscal 2022.

The International Monetary Fund is projecting the global economy to grow by 2.9 percent this year, up from its October 2022 projection of 2.7 percent; as inflation cools, China begins to reopen and demand remains strong, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 30.

Cash-strapped The Dalles, Ore.-based Mid-Columbia Hospital is moving ahead with plans to be absorbed into California's Adventist Health network, according to a Jan. 31 The Lund Report article.

Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health has been assigned an "AA" rating on new debt, Fitch Ratings said Jan. 30. The outlook for the debt is stable, Fitch added.

The pandemic pushed many hospitals and health systems to invest in digital transformation as remote care became a necessity, but the past year's financial challenges have forced many CFOs to shift their investment strategies for 2023, according to the "2023 BDO Healthcare CFO Outlook Survey." 

Technology and the global economy are at the core of several of the trends healthcare and data software company ESO has made for the hospital industry in 2023.

The American Hospital Association has lauded CMS for proposing steps to improve access to care for those who rely on the health insurance marketplaces for coverage.

Portland-based Legacy Health will close the Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center's family birth center in Gresham, Ore., as staff shortages and financial losses continue to challenge the health system, NBC affiliate KGW8 reported Jan. 30.

Providence, R.I.-based Care New England is showing signs of tentatively improving financial health after reporting a more than $111 million loss in fiscal 2022.

Rural hospitals are under immense financial strain. Since 2005, 183 rural hospitals have closed. 

Revenue cycle management company Knack Global has completed its acquisition of Delta Business Systems.

Expenses rose and investment income fell, but Klamath Falls, Ore.-based Sky Lakes Medical Center was still able to post net income of $7.3 million in fiscal 2022. That figure compared with net income of $9.6 million in 2021.

Nebraska Medicine, which operates a 718-bed acute care hospital in Omaha, said it had net income of $12.7 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, 2022, even as expenses rose significantly.

CMS has made several changes to the Medicare cost report for hospitals that include uncompensated care, Medicare disproportionate share hospital, bad debt and graduate medical education, according to legal news website JDSupra.

Kerrville, Texas-based Peterson Health showed some positive signs of operating revenue outpacing expenses at the end of 2022 even as its half-year operating performance was in negative territory. 

CMS' Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program will likely save the federal government billions of dollars, according to a study published Jan. 27 in JAMA Health Forum.

Ten hospitals or health systems recently posted job listings seeking revenue cycle management expertise.

St. Margaret's Health-Peru (Ill.) closed Jan. 28 after the system's CEO and chair of the board detailed plans Jan. 20 to temporarily shutter the hospital, Shaw Local News Network reported Jan. 28.    

Eleventh-hour financial improvements were not enough for U.S. hospitals, making 2022 "the worst financial year for hospitals and health systems since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic," according to Kaufman Hall.