The CEO of New Bern, N.C.-based CarolinaEast Health System is speaking out against a recent report alleging shady financial practices, the Sun Journal reported Nov. 11.

Hospitals challenged with staff shortages, declining inpatient volumes and rising expenses are looking to cut costs and increase revenue wherever possible, and many are pressing commercial payers for rate increases as they renegotiate contracts. 

Health systems across the country are closely monitoring commodity prices as they look to save money. Gasoline prices grew by 17.5 percent for the last 12 months ending in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index Report.

Several Episcopal churches in the St. Louis area joined with RIP Medical Debt to eliminate more than $5.5 million in residents' medical debt, Fox affiliate KTVI reported Nov. 10. 

R1 RCM Chief Executive Officer Joe Flanagan recently cited three reasons the company's results fell short in the third quarter. 

Waukesha, Wis.-based ProHealth Care, which earlier this year opened its fourth hospital, reported a net loss of almost $100 million for fiscal year 2022 as it struggled with both labor costs and what it called "volatile investment markets."

Here are three health systems that have made revenue cycle executive hires Becker's has reported since Oct. 10. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota — alongside Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic — has now allowed West Des Moines, Iowa-based MercyOne's Albert Lea (Wis.) Healthcare Coalition to join its in-network Medicare Advantage plan for 2023 enrollment, the Albert Lea Tribune…

Doylestown (Pa.) Hospital, about 40 miles north of Philadelphia, has only 81 days of cash on hand amid ongoing operating losses it revealed Nov. 10. That figure is lower than obligations the hospital has through its covenants.

From declining inpatient volumes to reimbursement challenges and increased demand for outpatient care, various factors lead hospitals to shut down or enter bankruptcy.