It's no secret that hospitals and health systems continue to deal with rising costs, leading to many healthcare finance leaders looking for solutions to offload some of that pressure. 

A number of healthcare organizations have recently closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or address staffing shortages.

CMS' making care primary model launched July 1 with 133 participants representing 772 practices across the U.S.

Maryville, Tenn.-based Blount Memorial Hospital has sold MorningView Village, a senior living facility, for $22.7 million to Ocoee Foundation, a Cleveland, Tenn.-based nonprofit. ABC affiliate WATE reported July 9.

The Pennant Group plans to acquire Signature Healthcare at Home for $80 million. 

As more older adults opt for Medicare Advantage plans, reimbursement fights between hospitals and insurers are increasingly centered around those contracts.

While healthcare and political leaders continue to address "corporate greed and private equity abuse" in healthcare, a July 8 PitchBook report found that PE's investment in healthcare is "vastly overstated."

Labcorp will manage the daily operations of Naples (Fla.) Comprehensive Healthcare's inpatient lab operations. 

The House Appropriations Committee on July 10 voted 31-25 in favor of a bill that would provide $185.8 billion in funding for HHS and the departments of labor and education in the fiscal year 2025, which ends Sept. 30. 

Physicians are increasingly turning to generative AI to appeal denied prior authorizations, The New York Times reported July 10. 

Grove Hill (Ala.) Memorial Hospital has shared plans to discontinue its labor and delivery services, effective at the end of the business day on Aug. 16.

Dallas-based Steward Health Care made six payments totaling just under $1.6 million this year to London-based Audere International, a commercial intelligence, investigations and security company, prior to filing for bankruptcy on May 6.

All 780 revenue cycle employees at Roanoke, Va.-based Carilion Clinic are being offered comparable positions at Ensemble Health Partners as the health system transfers RCM operations.

Hospitals groups are pushing back against CMS' proposed 2.6% pay bump for 2025, arguing that the increase is inadequate as a large portion of the nonprofit hospital sector continue to see operating margins in the red or hover above zero. 

CMS released its annual proposed changes to the physician fee schedule for 2025 on July 10, which includes a proposed 93 cent (2.8%) conversion factor decrease from 2024. 

In 2024, Healthcare CFOs are taking on major challenges in the ever-changing healthcare landscape. Their role in steering organizations toward sustainability and strategic growth while managing financial and operational complexities is more vital than ever.

Fitch downgraded Beaver, Pa.-based Heritage Valley Health System's rating from "A+" to "A."

The board of managers for the University Medical Center of El Paso (Texas) has approved plans to ask county commissioners for their approval of a $396.6 million bond to go on the Nov. 5 ballot.

From operating margins still causing challenges for many health systems to consistent worries about healthcare workforce shortages, the current economy has trumped cost reduction concerns for CFOs in 2024, according to a new Deloitte annual survey.

CMS has published its Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule for 2025, which, among other things, would raise Medicare outpatient payment rates for about 3,500 hospitals and 6,100 ASCs next year.