Though chief financial officers have long been seen as their organizations' strategic partners, "the degree to which it's the norm and expected is much more significant now than it was even five to 10 years ago," according to Daniel Morissette, senior executive vice president and CFO of Dignity and CFO of CommonSpirit Health, based in Chicago.

State officials are pursuing reforms amid increased media attention on medical debt collection lawsuits, according to The New York Times.

Markups on emergency medicine and anesthesiology services — two specialties that are common in surprise medical billing — increased significantly from 2012 to 2016, according to a research letter published Nov. 11 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Below are the adjusted expenses per inpatient day in 2017, organized by hospital ownership type, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the latest statistics from Kaiser State Health Facts.

New York City-based NYU Langone Health reached its $3 billion fundraising goal last week at its annual fundraising gala. 

Major for-profit hospital operators produced mixed financial results in the third quarter of 2019.

Walker County Hospital Corp., which operates Huntsville (Texas) Memorial Hospital, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Nov. 11, according to The Huntsville Item.

CMS could release a rule by the end of 2019 on a proposal that hospitals disclose payer-specific negotiated rates, a White House adviser said. 

The University of Cincinnati and its affiliated hospital system, UC Health, plan to launch a $2 billion, five-year fundraising campaign, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. 

Hutchinson (Kan.) Regional Medical Center is suing the company it contracted with to manage hospital operations, alleging the company's errors resulted in the hospital having to refund Medicare more than $2.7 million in July for overpayments, according to The Hutchinson News, which cites the lawsuit.

Three major for-profit hospital operators saw their stock prices rise last week.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente reported higher revenue and net income for its nonprofit hospital and health plan units in the third quarter of 2019.

A federal appeals court in Missouri on Nov. 4 held that a rule issued by CMS requiring Medicaid payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals to be reduced based on payments hospitals receive from private payers and Medicare is valid.

Hospitals used incorrect patient discharge status codes in more than 18,600 claims submitted to Medicare from 2016 through 2018, resulting in $54.4 million in overpayments, according to an audit report from HHS' Office of Inspector General.

The financial fate of healthcare organizations depends on their ability to provide patients with good clinical care and a positive financial experience. While providing safe and effective care has always been a top priority for healthcare organizations, many providers have overlooked how elements of the revenue cycle – both front-end and back-end — affect the patient experience.

CMS is delaying skilled nursing facility claims as it implements a new payment model for those facilities, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

An update on credit rating activity in the last week at a dozen hospital or health systems:

The American Hospital Association is asking CMS to give providers a break on prior authorization requirements.

The American Hospital Association said it will seek enforcement of a Sept. 17 federal court decision that would stop cuts to  Medicare reimbursement rates for off-site clinics. 

Quorum Health's revenue increased year over year in the third quarter of 2019, but the Brentwood, Tenn.-based hospital operator ended the quarter with a net loss.