Community Health Systems plans to sell its three Pennsylvania hospitals, a bankruptcy judge allows Steward Health Care to close two Massachusetts hospitals, and CMS approves North Carolina’s medical debt relief program.

In this week’s graphic, we take stock of both the evolving usage and employer coverage of GLP-1 drugs, specifically for weight loss.

Health systems are confronting a new normal of shrinking revenue and rising labor costs. In the second quarter of 2024, increased labor expenses accounted for 83.9% of total expenses. Additionally, the median investment/subsidy per provider rose 3% since Q2 2023.

The latest Kaufman Hall National Hospital Flash Report shows that the Calendar Year to Date Operating Margin Index for hospitals was 4.1% in June.

Length of stay affects many elements of a hospital’s financial performance, and it is also a key driver of patient satisfaction. Effective management of length of stay requires consistent leadership, and hospitalists are the logical choice to fill that leadership role.

In this week’s graphic, we highlight the most recent data from software and analytics firm Strata Decision Technology to assess how hospital volumes have changed since 2022.

The House Oversight Committee criticizes PBM pricing tactics, Humana’s CenterWell plans to open primary care centers at Walmarts, and a federal judge upholds the FTC’s noncompete rule, diverging from a previous district court ruling.

This Sg2 Perspectives podcast, featuring Kaufman Hall Senior VP Adnan Qureshi, offers insights on current trends in private equity deals and perspectives on how private equity can help healthcare.

As healthcare market conditions continue to stabilize after several years of pandemic-era volatility, many hospital and health system leaders are revisiting their organizations’ strategic options for long-term sustainability.

The latest Kaufman Hall Report includes an inside look at resetting organizational enterprise strategy.

The new generation of weight-loss drugs has the potential to help reduce prevalence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, two of the most prevalent chronic conditions. How might that affect hospital operations and capital and financial planning?

Using the latest data forecast from Sg2, a Vizient company, the graphic below illustrates how the outpatient shift will continue to accelerate through 2034.