Cedars-Sinai CFO David Wrigley told Becker's that the Los Angeles-based health system's financial plan is about having a "forward look" at all times as hospitals across the country deal with issues such as inflation, staffing pressures and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A partnership between Cook County, Ill., RIP Medical Debt and UChicago Medicine has relieved $173.3 million in medical debt for more than 85,000 patients. 

Errors in patient access, such as eligibility or missing prior authorization, is the top reason for initial payer denials, according to an Oct. 17 report from Akasa, a revenue cycle firm that uses artificial intelligence.  

It's no secret that patients are dissatisfied with dated healthcare payment systems. But that discontent is growing, according to a recent report. 

The San Benito County (Calif.) Board of Supervisors submitted a letter of intent to look into managing Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, which filed for bankruptcy in May, BenitoLink reported Oct. 25.

Shuttered Madera (Calif.) Community Hospital is selling farmland it owed for more money than it anticipated in just six minutes of auction bidding, but still owes more than $30 million to creditors, according to an Oct. 24 Fresnoland report.

While only 21 Wisconsin hospitals lost money in 2021, 60 of them did so in 2022, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, one of the largest for-profit health systems in the U.S., comprises 183 hospitals and more than 2,300 care sites in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

The emergency department at PeaceHealth's Sacred Heart Medical Center University District hospital campus in Eugene, Ore., will cease operations at 7 a.m. on Dec. 1.

Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health is a 26-hospital system serving its home state, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. The system has more than 400 clinics and 4,500 providers, with staff members totaling approximately 37,000 people.

An increasing rate in claims denials is once again having the most significant effect on hospital and health system revenue cycles, according to an Oct. 24 report from Kaufman Hall. 

Despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, the Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, a physician-owned hospital in Westlake Hills, Texas, is focused on "core service line growth."

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare reported $1.63 billion in third-quarter operating income on revenues of $16.21 billion, but the company's results were "unfavorably impacted" by its Valesco physician staffing joint venture, which "performed below expectations," CEO Sam Hazen said during an Oct. 24 earnings call. 

After an "extremely difficult" 2022, hospitals and health systems are seeing signs of stabilization this year, but persistent workforce-related challenges are keeping costs high and contributing to patient access issues, according to Kaufman Hall's "2023 State of Healthcare Performance Improvement" report.

Arkansas lawmakers have given the green light to disburse more than $16 million in federal funding to four rural hospitals, the Arkansas Advocate reported Oct. 23. 

Indiana University Health Foundation, the fundraising arm of Indianapolis-based IU Health, has launched a $200 million campaign, the first of its kind since the foundation was started in 2018, according to an Oct. 24 Indianapolis Business Journal report.

Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Health reported a big jump in net income in fiscal 2023 even as its operating income fell.

Oregon hospitals' second-quarter median operating margin was positive for the first time in five quarters, but it is still far below pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the potential fragility of hospital services, according to the Hospital Association of Oregon.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, a 183-hospital system, reported an operating income of $1.63 billion in the third quarter as both revenue and expenses grew significantly year over year. 

Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, a 26-hospital system, said it received recent bond downgrades from two agencies, according to an Oct. 23 filing.