Hospital leaders are sounding the alarm over California’s latest cost-control measures targeting “high-cost” hospitals as concerns mount over the potential effects on patient access, physician recruitment and financial viability. On April 22, the California Office of Health Care Affordability Board…

Moody’s has downgraded Cleveland-based University Hospitals’ rating to “A3” from “A2.” The downgrade reflects continuing weak financial performance over a protracted period and modest liquidity, despite improvements, Moody’s said in a May 5 report. The ratings agency said the health…

St. Louis-based Ascension is regaining financial footing and re-entering acquisition mode after a period marked by portfolio divestitures and strategic restructuring. The nonprofit health system, which reported a $3 billion operating loss in fiscal year 2023, recently implemented several leadership…

Rite Aid is seeking to sell “substantially all its assets” and has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years to facilitate the process.  The company is in active discussion with multiple interested potential…

Hospitals in at least 10 states are experiencing delays in supplemental Medicaid payments from the federal government — a slowdown that has led some facilities to pause the expansion of services and halt payments to vendors, according to a May…

Norristown, Pa.-based Suburban Community Hospital, part of Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, will transition from an acute care facility to a behavioral health campus on July 1. The transitions will affect 109 employees, according to a Pennsylvania WARN notice. However, around…

Fountain Valley, Calif.-based MemorialCare shared plans to lay off 115 positions May 2 as part of operational and workflow changes across its Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center and Long Beach-based Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital. “Long Beach Medical Center and…

Congress is weighing Medicaid spending cuts of up to $880 billion or more over the next 10 years, but the reductions are expected to be a major headwind for hospitals, where 26% of inpatient visits are paid for by Medicaid,…

Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center in Cuthbert, which closed in October 2020, has received funding to reopen as a critical access hospital, NBC and ABC affiliate WALB reported May 2. Renovations for the hospital will take about a year and…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has joined a pair of industry groups in asking a federal court in Texas to vacate a Biden-era rule that banned medical debt from credit reports.  The rule, finalized Jan. 7, prohibits lenders from considering…