Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and find themselves choosing food, mortgage/rent and utilities over unbudgeted, unplanned medical care.

Community hospital USC Arcadia (Calif.) had both its bonds and overall rating affirmed Jan. 12 at "BBB+" by Fitch amid expectations it will improve its operating profitability. The group's recent affiliation with the USC Keck School of Medicine will also benefit both entities strategically, Fitch said.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, the country's largest hospital operator, is accused of understaffing its hospitals and facilities at the expense of patient care and focuses more on making a profit, a new report claims. HCA disputes the claims.

Community members in Toppenish, Wash., are looking into creating a public hospital district to restore labor and delivery services to Astria Toppenish Hospital, YakTriNews reported Jan. 11.

Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care, one of the larger healthcare systems in the U.S., reported an audited net loss of $275.4 million for fiscal 2022 as it struggled with higher expenses and losses on its investment portfolio. The loss compared with a net gain of $186 million in 2021.

It's been a familiar story in recent months of healthcare systems seeing their expenses far outpace their revenues.

The Consumer Price Index climbed 6.5 percent in the year through December, down from 7.1 percent in November and the slowest rate since October 2021, The New York Times reported Jan. 12.

Hospitals and health systems need to scale to thrive in today's marketplace but with a tumultuous financial year in the rearview mirror and no immediate respite in site, many will pursue strategic partnerships as a way to stay afloat, according to a Jan. 9 report from KPMG. 

Private equity firm Alpine Investors has invested in Medusind, a revenue cycle management company. 

The average contract labor spend among hospitals more than doubled between 2011 and 2020, with many hospitals and health systems now making concerted efforts to curb this expense category. 

Pauls Valley, Okla.-based Valley Community Hospital CEO Madhukar Sharma told Pauls Valley Democrat on Jan. 11 that the hospital is staying open, despite community rumors to the contrary.

While 2022 was one of the most difficult years financially for nonprofit healthcare systems, the outlook for 2023 does provide some cautious optimism, Fitch Ratings analysts said on a webinar Jan. 11.

CMS on Jan. 11 unveiled key dates for the first year of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program under the Inflation Reduction Act, a $739 billion package that aims to lower drug costs.

Salem (Ore.) Health has had its "AA-" rating affirmed on bonds the health system owns as well as for its overall rating, Fitch said Jan. 11. The outlook for the system is stable.

Northern Light Health turning to a for-profit giant like Optum for "financial help" won't help it mitigate billing- and insurance-related costs and underscores hospitals' growing financial woes, Daniel Bryant, MD, a former physician at Mercy Hospital in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, wrote in a Jan. 10 article in the Press Herald.

Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health — which operates four hospitals, including the level 1 trauma facility Baystate Medical Center — reported a net loss of $327.4 million in the year ending Sept. 30 2022.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the federal reserve "may very well" raise the interest rate to 6 percent, a move higher than most officials and Wall Street strategists are anticipating, Yahoo Finance reported Jan. 10.  

Seven revenue cycle management companies — including Ventra Health and R1 RCM — have announced executive leadership changes since Nov. 8:

The Madera (Calif.) County Board of Supervisors is looking into allocating half of its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding to resume operations at Madera Community Hospital. The city's sole hospital for about 150,000 residents shut its doors just before the new year after Trinity Health's plan to buy it fell through. 

Employees at Las Vegas-based Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center have been notified of layoffs coming to the facility, which will transition to a freestanding emergency department, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Jan. 10.