hospital finances

MedCity Influencers

Health System Credit Downgrades: Unpacking the Challenges and Exploring Solutions

The significance of credit ratings for health systems cannot be overstated. They serve as a warning sign indicating organizations need to transform. Health systems can no longer rely on top-line revenue to address their inherited problems. It is clear that a fresh approach to cost management is required to break away from past practices and chart a new course toward financial viability and sustainability.

Hospitals’ Operating Margins Fell In July After 4 Months of Growth

Hospital finances worsened in July as volumes dropped, according to a new report. Following four months of growth, hospitals' median year-to-date operating margin index fell 1.3%, down from 1.4% in June. Hospital finances still remained in a better place than they were last year, given hospitals’ median operating margins were -0.98% in July 2022.

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Health Tech

Tax Breaks Far Outweigh Community Spending at Most Nonprofit Hospitals

A new report from Lown Institute examined the finances of 1,773 private nonprofit hospitals across the U.S. For more than three-quarters of these hospitals, their spending on charity care and community investment was less than the money they received in tax breaks in 2020. These combined deficits totaled $14.2 billion, which is enough money to relieve 18 million Americans’ medical debt or prevent 600 at-risk rural hospitals from closing, according to the report.

Health Tech

Medicare Needs to Pay for Some of Hospitals’ Discharge Delays, AHA Says

Hospitals are struggling to discharge patients in a timely manner, according to the American Hospital Association. This is often because there are no available spots for patients being transferred to outpatient facilities. To remedy the increased costs hospitals face as a result of this issue, an AHA exec said Medicare should establish a temporary per diem payment for cases in which a patient is ready for discharge but is unable to be discharged appropriately.