Imagine sneaking a peek at the financial ledgers of your local mechanic and finding out that in the past two decades he had never in any year earned enough money fixing cars to pay the expenses of his repair shop.
FULL STORY »

Although nursing care has always been one of the larger single expenses in acute-care hospitals, some experts have never been satisfied with how nurses' services have been lumped into the same overall “room and board” charges as routine hospital costs.
FULL STORY »

Hospitals and health systems won't be able to lease equipment or property with contracts that keep such obligations off the balance sheet under a proposed change to accounting rules expected within months.
FULL STORY »

Heading into 2009, it was easy to understand predictions for uncompensated care that ranged from dire to apocalyptic. The credit crunch that began in 2007 was wreaking havoc on the financial system in 2008. Unemployment had climbed to 7.4% in December from 5.5% in June, according to the U.S. Labor Department, and economists were predicting that it might reach 10% for the first time in 25 years.
FULL STORY »

Tri-City Medical Center exited the auction-rate bond market earlier this year, following many not-for-profit hospitals that fled the market after its 2008 collapse. But unlike other hospitals, Tri-City Medical Center has sued its bank and bond insurer over the now-largely defunct financing vehicle.
FULL STORY »

Bundling payments to hospitals and doctors for episodes of care is gaining momentum in the federal government and in the private sector as a way to increase provider accountability and improve care—but lingering challenges may deter its application on a broader scale.
FULL STORY »

Pension plans, a retirement benefit on the decline for decades, are growing even less common at hospitals and health systems since the recession began.
FULL STORY »

While Cerberus Capital Management is drawing a lot of attention for its plunge into hospitals, several of its private-equity peers might be contemplating the other end of the process—how they will exit their hospital investments.
FULL STORY »

Sometimes the way you say goodbye determines whether the door will open for you the next time you knock.
FULL STORY »

In the coming year, hospitals and health systems exempt from some taxes will, for the first time, list the exact amount they spend on subsidies for needy patients and other health-related activities on federal records available to the public.
FULL STORY »