Annual Conference Day 1: HFMA, AHA leaders hold forth on the state of the healthcare industry
HFMA’s 2024 Annual Conference began Monday afternoon with HFMA’s Ann Jordan and the American Hospital Association’s Rick Pollack rallying attendees to address the profound challenges and opportunities facing the industry. To start, Jordan, HFMA’s president and CEO, highlighted the conference theme, “A New Frontier in Health.” Frontier is “an exciting and unsettling word that really…
CMS’s 2024 MA rule brings some improvements but falls short of addressing all providers’ concerns
Hospitals and other healthcare providers welcomed CMS’s release in 2023 of the 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule (CMS-4201-F).a The rule represents CMS’s effort to refine the practices of MA organizations by placing limitations on prior authorization, elevating requirements for provider directories and making comprehensive adjustments to the MA and Part D quality…
A year after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, what have we learned about managing counterparty risk?
On March 8, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced a $1.8 billion loss from the sale of securities to cover a decline in clients’ deposits. The following day, SVB’s stock dropped 60% and the bank saw a historic $42 billion in withdrawal requests. Twenty-four hours later, SVB was under the control of U.S. banking regulators…
Why U.S. policy needs to focus on pruning the healthcare transaction thicket
Despite its huge disruptive impact, the Change Healthcare cyberattack seems to be fading from the headlines even as the after-effects of this disruption linger. What remains, however, is the unsettling awareness not only that the U.S. healthcare payment “system” is not secure, but also that the hospitals and physicians’ offices we all rely on when…
Andrew Donahue: An open letter to Congress on nonprofit hospital finances
There’s a lot of bad information out there on nonprofit hospital finances. Part of the problem is run-of-the-mill scapegoating — stakeholders with an agenda using our business complexity to muddy the water. Part of the problem is classic misuse of information — good people with good intentions making the wrong assumptions. And part of the…
Hospitals say Supreme Court should hear a case that affects disproportionate share hospital payments
Hospital advocacy groups hope the Supreme Court will review a lower-court ruling that has adverse implications for Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. Six groups on Feb. 2 submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court regarding an appeals court’s 2023 decision backing HHS’s interpretation of the DSH payment formula. The department long has said…
Healthcare in 2024: hfm columnists recount key issues finance leaders should keep on their radar
As 2024 begins to unfold, a key question challenges healthcare finance leaders: What are likely to be the defining issues for healthcare in the coming year? Finance leaders should consider this question to make sure they are attuned to the potential for industry shifts, both positive and negative. And as they contemplate what’s in store…
Downgrades topple upgrades: 5 key takeaways from rating activity in 2023
As expected, 2023 saw a material increase in downgrades over 2022 while the number of upgrades declined from the prior year. Volume showed favorable growth for many hospitals during 2023, although some indicators remained below prepandemic levels. Other hospitals reported a payer mix shift toward more Medicare as the U.S. population continued to age and…
Andrew Donahue: 4 reasons results of the 2024 election won’t matter for healthcare
There is a strange and underappreciated truth at the top of the American political system: Our president is remarkably powerless. Except in the realms of foreign policy, executive agency action and judicial branch appointments, the president’s policy agenda is rarely guided by intention. Rather, it is defined by limitation. Savvy presidents learn quickly that their…
The intersection of quality and finance, with Rick Gundling and Stephanie Mercado
HFMA's Rick Gundling and Stephanie Mercado from the National Association for Healthcare Quality discuss how all entities within a healthcare organization can work for better quality.