Oklahoma City-based OU Medicine's financial outlook is stable, but its profile still reflects "very high debt levels" after its spinout from Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare in 2018, according to S&P Global Ratings.

A retired attorney is pitching a plan to save three hospitals owned by Tower Health, a cash-strapped hospital system based in West Reading, Pa., according to The Mercury.

Washington, D.C.-based United Medical Center will have its budget rewritten by an outside financial control board after it received additional funding to cover payroll this week, according to The Washington Post. 

Hospitals and providers are urging HHS to distribute billions of dollars that remain in a $178 billion COVID-19 relief fund intended for healthcare providers.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health recorded a net income of $279.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 after posting a $940.7 million net loss in the first quarter of last year, according to financial documents unveiled May 11 at the health system's quarterly board meeting.

Zotec Partners, a revenue cycle management company for healthcare providers, on May 11 added three new leadership positions: chief operating officer, chief product officer and client success officer.

BayCare Health System, a 15-hospital system based in Clearwater, Fla., saw its operating margin increase 5.5 percentage points in the first quarter of this year to 10.1 percent, according to financial documents released May 10. 

The chief of operations and financial management at Eleanor Slater Hospital, an embattled state-run psychiatric hospital in Cranston, R.I., avoided losing his job for months despite two layoff attempts, according to local news station WPRI. 

Many hospitals across the U.S. are turning to layoffs to right-size their organizations or cut costs as they recover from the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

R1 RCM, a revenue cycle management service provider for healthcare organizations, saw its revenue increase to $342.6 million in the first quarter of 2021, a 6.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The healthcare sector is drawing interest from private equity investors this year, with at least eight deals announced in the last month.

BMO financial group donated $10 million to Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center to support the academic health system's equity initiatives and open the Rush BMO Institute for Health Equity.

Medicare claims data show some hospitals are charging up to $650 for COVID-19 tests that cost less than $50 to do, according to a Hospital Pricing Specialists analysis cited by Kaiser Health News.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente recorded a net income of $2 billion in the first quarter of 2021, up from a net loss of $1.1 billion recorded in the same quarter last year, according to financial data released May 7. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law exempting medical or dental billing services from sales tax, The National Law Review reported May 5.

A retiring couple should plan to spend $300,000 in healthcare and medical costs throughout their retirement, a figure that's up 88 percent since 2002, according to Fidelity Investments.

CMS has started issuing its first round of warning letters to hospitals not in compliance with the hospital price disclosure rule, a CMS spokesperson confirmed to Becker's May 5. 

CMS is increasing the Medicare payment rate for administering monoclonal antibodies to treat patients with COVID-19. 

The American Hospital Association is asking CMS to allow providers to use their COVID-19 provider relief fund grants past the current June 30 deadline. 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his wife, Anu, have committed $15 million to Seattle Children's Hospital to help provide equitable access to care for the community, according to a May 5 news release.