Healthcare finance news for hospital and health system leaders

Health systems facing financial pressure are focused on approaches that move the needle in a meaningful way, and for several large organizations, those approaches have led to swings of hundreds of millions of dollars in operating performance. Becker’s talked to…

Health insurers are using AI to speed up prior authorization, but Fitch expects regulators to keep requiring humans in the loop when care is denied, and that will limit how much efficiency payers can gain. The outlook comes from Fitch’s…

Kentucky and Kansas residents are set to have a combined $284 million in medical debt erased through partnerships with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, adding to a growing list of states and health systems that have launched similar efforts in 2026.…

The average healthcare CFO tenure runs 4.7 years, according to research from Crist Kolder Associates. Garrick Stoldt’s run at Saint Peter’s Healthcare System has about quadruple that, and outlasted many of his peers. Mr. Stoldt has served as vice president…

Health system operating margins tumbled into negative territory at the start of 2026 before gradually recovering and the recovery, while real, didn’t play out evenly. Strata Decision Technology’s Performance Trends Report for H1 2026 draws on financial and operational data…

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health launched a program to lower out-of-pocket costs for North Carolina State Health Plan members who use its physicians and hospitals, but State Treasurer Brad Briner warned the program could bankrupt the plan, North Carolina Health News…

Rising anesthesia subsidies are often treated as a staffing or reimbursement problem. But for many hospitals, the larger issue sits between the two: how effectively staffed anesthesia capacity is converted into procedural volume, documented care and ultimately collected revenue. That…

CMS has published the list of hospitals that will take part in its Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Expanded Model, known as CJR-X. As of Sept. 30, 2026, 2,217 acute care hospitals meet the participant definition. CMS said it plans…

HCA Healthcare owned more general hospitals than any other U.S. health system at the end of 2025, according to an analysis from the Lown Institute, published Oct. 6. The analysis draws on Lown’s hospital ownership dataset, which tracks the ownership…

While hospital closures in 2026 are pacing behind figures from 2025, many facilities remain on shaky financial ground.  From low volumes and looming federal Medicaid cuts under HR 1 to shrinking cash reserves and reimbursement losses, here are four hospitals…