Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica Health has had its rating removed from a negative credit watch imposed in August 2022 and remains overall "BB" rated by S&P Global.

Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System saw its income for 2022 vastly reduced amid higher operating expenses and losses on its investment values, leading to a fall in its overall worth.

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

Margins will eventually rebuild to historic levels and a strong management team will help ensure so, Moody's said of MedStar Health as the rating agency affirmed an "A2" credit rating with a stable outlook for the Columbia, Md.-based healthcare system.

Healthcare employment increased by 55,000 in December, with ambulatory services leading the way, according to a Jan. 6 Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

R1 RCM reaffirmed its 2022 guidance and unveiled its 2023 outlook in a Jan. 5 news release. 

The former CEO of troubled Maryville, Tenn.-based Blount Memorial Hospital was forced out with a $1.2 million payment even as officials at the hospital publicly said he had voluntarily retired, court documents obtained by Becker's claim.

R1 RCM's leadership team is continuing to evolve with appointments of a new CFO and chief commercial officer. 

Pioneers Memorial Healthcare, which recently had its credit rating downgraded three notches to "B" amid ongoing operational challenges, is working with a consultant group to identify cost savings and functional improvements ranging from selling an MRI machine and the implementation of a new IT system to the restructuring of its physical therapy services.

Troubled Leadville, Colo.-based St. Vincent Health, which has hit the headlines recently as it struggles to make payroll, is fundamentally on sound financial footing and has a positive future, its interim CEO told Becker's.

Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare and Colorado Springs, Colo.-based UCHealth are forming a joint venture clinically integrated network, Intermountain said in a Jan. 5 news release.

While it affirmed a rating of "A+" on debt levels for Asante Health, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the outlook for the Medford, Ore.-based healthcare system to negative from stable.

The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that could lift wages by nearly $300 billion per year economywide by blocking companies from limiting their workers' ability to work for a competitor, The New York Times reported Jan. 5.

Emergency departments services comprised two-thirds of CPT codes submitted in No Surprises Act disputes between April 15 and Sept. 30, according to CMS' initial report on the independent dispute resolution process. 

Upgrading and replacing previous claims technologies was the most common way providers worked to reduce claims denials in 2022, according to a recent report from Experian Health. 

Several healthcare organizations have recently closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or address staffing shortages.

Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health is cutting back services as the health system deals with economic challenges, Bangor Daily News reported Jan. 4.

Buffalo, N.Y.-based John R. Oishei Children's Hospital has landed a safety-net designation that will protect the pediatric hospital against Medicaid cuts and allow the hospital to access additional funding, The Buffalo News reported Jan. 4.

The newly completed $28 million acquisition of Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia will provide employees with the tools they need to pursue more rewarding healthcare careers, the consortium taking over the hospital said in a filing.

Nonprofit hospitals in Indiana are overcharging patients because of a lack of competition, legislators and others in the Hoosier state allege. The claim is heavily disputed by advocacy organizations working on behalf of the hospitals, according to a Jan. 4 report in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.