Alex Kacik

HCA, Tenet, UHS receive FTC letter over noncompete agreements The Federal Trade Commission sent a warning letter to 19 for-profit systems and staffing firms about potentially anticompetitive employment agreements.

In September, the FTC sent noncompete-focused warning letters to large healthcare companies, but did not identify them. I filed a FOIA, which showed some of the biggest hospital chains — HCA, Tenet and UHS — are among 19 companies on the FTC's radar.

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The latest worry at hospitals—rising payment backlogs Growing claim denials, inflation and an increase in self-pay patients are driving up health systems’ accounts receivable balances.

Claim denials, inflation and an increase in the number of self-pay patients are driving up nonprofit health systems’ accounts receivable balances.

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Hospital revenue stagnates amid inflation, sicker patients Hospitals aim to diversify and increase revenue to offset inflation and higher operating costs.

Hospitals are not increasing revenue fast enough to keep up with two factors entirely out of their control — inflation and the graying of America.

Read my latest data dive with @timbroderick.bsky.social here: bit.ly/4o6czrr via @modernhealthcare.bsky.social

Anesthetist shortage and pay cuts strain hospital budgets The combination of lower reimbursement and a growing anesthetist shortage could limit access to care and affect provider's expansion plans.

Rising anesthetist costs and declining reimbursement are squeezing rural and safety-net hospitals.

Health systems are training more CRNAs and streamlining operations. But those efforts may not be enough to stave off service cuts.

Read more here, thanks for your time: bit.ly/43dD2Md

Looming uninsured surge may overwhelm ERs. Here’s who can help. Health systems hope community health workers can help prevent patients from losing Medicaid coverage because of the new tax law.

Health systems are deploying an often-overlooked resource to combat a potential increase in uninsured patients — community health workers:

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Health system CEOs head for the exit Health systems are ramping up CEO successor searches, prioritizing a leader's ability to navigate financial uncertainty and deploy systemwide strategies.

A growing number of health system CEOs are planning to retire, exposing gaps in succession planning that could dent provider finances.

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Rural aid loophole: Urban hospital dual status sparks concerns The number of urban hospitals that also classify as rural has grown exponentially since 2017, potentially limiting the impact of rural health programs.

Hospitals in urban areas are increasingly using a regulatory loophole to benefit from policies designed to support rural providers, a new @healthaffairs.bsky.social study found:

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Insurance market shake-up spurs interest from integrated systems Merger and acquisition talks have picked up among integrated health systems looking to expand provider-sponsored health plan offerings.

Keep an eye out for a provider-sponsored health plan acquisition later this month. I spoke to a handful of health systems with insurance offerings to unpack the benefits and challenges of controlling both care delivery and payment:

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Urban hospitals claim rural status, sparking worry over $50B fund The number of urban hospitals that also classify as rural has grown exponentially since 2017, potentially limiting the impact of rural health programs.

That rural health fund.. may help urban hospitals, @alex-kacik.bsky.social reports, because dually classified rural/urban hospitals increased from 3 in 2017 to 425 in 2023. "The $50 billion fund was supposed to be the savior of rural hospitals facing huge Medicaid cuts,” a Kansas hospital CEO said

Why rural hospitals are preparing for a $50B funding race States and their respective hospitals have until the end of the year to prepare applications for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.

Rural hospital CEOs are concerned urban providers will tap into the $50 billion rural health fund. Even so, the program will not be enough to mitigate looming Medicaid and Medicare cuts, they said.

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Rural hospitals eye service expansions to weather federal cuts President Donald Trump's new tax cut law has pushed rural hospitals' service expansion strategies.

“It is like we are preparing for a hurricane." Rural hospitals are planning for Medicaid and Medicare cuts linked to the OBBA. But there is only so much to cut, CEOs told me, noting a significant reduction in OB services over the past decade.

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Hospitals restructure for efficiency — but at what cost? Reimbursement pressures and proposed funding cuts are forcing many systems to rethink their governance models and trim their ranks.

Health systems are cutting costs. Administrators have taken the brunt of the layoffs, which can lead to organizational overhauls. We looked at the financial pressures prompting these changes and the risks of rushing restructurings.

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