A group of House lawmakers unveiled a “statement of principles” to temporarily extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits as the federal government shutdown recently entered its fifth week. Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and…

Cleveland-based MetroHealth’s rating was downgraded to “Baa3” from “Baa2” by Moody’s.  The health system maintains a negative outlook at its new rating, Moody’s said in an Oct. 30 report.  Moody’s said the downgrade is driven by the system’s slower-than-expected pace…

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare’s outlook has been revised to positive from stable, by Fitch.  The raised outlook reflects the for-profit system’s improving competitive position, Fitch said in a Nov. 3 report. Tenet’s hospital and ambulatory care segments have posted “robust” EBITDA…

CMS released its final rule for 2026 Medicare payments under the physician fee schedule, including two separate conversion factors, Oct. 31. Twelve things to know:  1. CMS will implement two separate conversion factors for Medicare reimbursement. One for qualified practitioners…

The federal government shutdown eclipsed the one-month mark Nov. 1 and is on course to become the longest in U.S. history this week, surpassing the 35-day shutdown that ended in early 2019.  Five things to know:  1. Bipartisan talks among…

Financial pressure, consolidation, and Medicaid shortfalls are dismantling the rare pediatric services that sustain discovery and innovation. Children’s hospitals have always operated within fragile budgets. More than half of the children they care for are covered by Medicaid or CHIP,…

October 24th, 2025 In a typical U.S. hospital system, the revenue cycle is under constant pressure. A significant  portion of this pressure comes from denied claims, which was estimated to be a $262 billion  problem annually (as of 2017).1 For…

St. Louis-based Ascension reported an operating loss of $88 million (-1.4% margin) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended Sept. 30, a $133 million improvement on the $221 million operating loss (-3.1% margin) posted in the same…

HCA Healthcare led in total net income, while Tenet Healthcare posted the highest operating margin among the nation’s largest for-profit health systems in the third quarter. Each system reported improvements in revenue and patient volumes, but their bottom lines varied…

Cleveland-based MetroHealth System has launched a community-wide push to expand insurance enrollment as part of a broader effort to reduce the $1 million it spends daily on charity care. MetroHealth, Cuyahoga County’s safety-net hospital system, said its charity care costs…