News Briefs: Supreme Court ruling allows the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to proceed
A roundup of top news stories for healthcare finance professionals.
Success Awards presented at 2021 Annual Conference
Ten HFMA chapters and three regions have been named as the first-ever winners of HFMA’s Success Award. The new award was established by HFMA’s Regional Executive Council to recognize positive outcomes resulting from the Chapter Success Plan. The plan is designed to help chapters focus on improving and sustaining excellence in four key areas: individual…
Latest healthcare spending data paint a complicated picture of industry challenges and opportunities
Healthcare spending patterns during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic reflect an industry trying to get its bearings amid a public health emergency and daunting long-term trends.
Hospitals need federal support to handle the ongoing staffing and financial crunch, industry leaders say
The hospital industry issued its latest plea for additional federal help to mitigate the financial and operational strain of COVID-19, including surging staffing costs.
Healthcare M&A update: A quiet 2021 could give way to strategic shifts in 2022
The year 2021 was one of the least busy on record for healthcare mergers and acquisitions, but volume should pick up in 2022.
The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers can take effect nationwide, Supreme Court says
The court lifted injunctions that had halted implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in half the country, leaving hospitals and other affected providers with likely only a few weeks to begin complying.
HFMA’s new Premium Facilitated Learning courses combine self-directed study with facilitator feedback and time for peer problem solving
Learn more about HFMA’s Premium Facilitated Learning — a new line of courses — that combine self-directed study with expert facilitation in this Q&A with HFMA’s Sue Spear, director of Digital Learning and Todd Nelson, director of Partner Relationships.
Healthcare labor update: Employment data and research findings underscore ongoing challenges
As highlighted in new employment data and new studies, the healthcare labor market continues to constrain hospitals.
New surprise billing regulations: Assessing a patient’s network status will be a key challenge
With new surprise billing regulations in place, providers should seek to implement efficient processes for gauging whether a patient is in-network.
CMS now says hospitals in half the country must abide by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate starting in late January
The status of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers took another twist, with CMS stating it will look to enforce the mandate within a month in 25 states and Washington, D.C.