August 20, 2025

Whitepaper: Healthcare Affordability and Patient Revenue: Benchmarks and Insights from 213 RCM Leaders

Patients are shouldering more costs – and providers are paying the price.

With high-deductible health plans and rising coinsurance, out-of-pocket expenses continue to climb. The result: more financial strain on patients and more bad debt for providers.

In 2024, bad debt surged 14%, while collection rates remained stagnant at below 25%. Many in-house payment plans carry 20-30% default rates. Without a new approach, revenue leaders risk tying up capital and sending even more accounts to collections.

This report – based on a Healthcare Financial Management association-partnered survey of 213 health system revenue cycle leaders – reveals strategies that work in the real world. Learn how the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) combined pre-service payment policies with long-term financing to boost access and increase collections.

Inside the Report:

• Performance benchmarks from hospitals with $100 million to over $25 billion in annual revenue,
• How UTMB achieved a 25% lift in collections with patient-friendly financing, and
• Practical recommendations to reduce financial risk, improve cash flow, and make care more affordable.

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August 20, 2025

What Separates High- and Low-performing Hospitals in 2025

In 2025, top-performing hospitals are setting themselves apart from lower-performing facilities through a combination of strategic, operational and financial factors. According to Kaufman Hall and Fitch Ratings, the key differentiators include:

• Strong market presence in growth regions
  • Hospitals located in expanding markets – especially in the South, Midwest and Northeast – are benefiting from rising demand, better payer mixes and stronger revenue potential.
  • These organizations are leveraging local demographics and economic growth to drive performance.
• Workforce recruitment and retention
  • Talent remains a key differentiator. High performers are more successful in hiring and retaining clinical and nonclinical staff amid national shortages, allowing them to maintain service capacity and quality care while controlling labor costs.
• Aggressive payer strategy
  • Top-tier hospitals are skilled at negotiating favorable payer contracts, often using a “mind the gap” approach to keep reimbursement rates at the upper end of the scale.
  • These hospitals maximize market leverage to drive revenue growth.
• Operational agility
  • High-performing hospitals are nimble and can adjust quickly to changing conditions.
  • They centralize purchased services, optimize supply chains and adapt care models to improve efficiency.
• Investment in technology and infrastructure
  • Successful systems are proactively investing in AI, health IT and data analytics.
  • These investments support care delivery and administrative efficiency and prepare hospitals for value-based care and alternative payment models.
• Outpatient expansion and service diversification
  • Expanding outpatient footprints and diversifying service lines allow top hospitals to meet evolving patient demand and offset pressures on inpatient care, particularly in high-cost settings.
• Proactive real estate and capital management
  • Strong performers are strategically managing real estate assets to bolster balance sheets and fund growth initiatives, such as facility modernization and digital transformation.

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August 18, 2025

Whitepaper: FQHC Telehealth at Risk: What September’s Deadline Means for Revenue & Access

Time is running out for FQHCs that depend on telehealth to keep patients connected to care. In 2025, CMS flexibilities that made virtual visits reimbursable are winding down months earlier than many expected – creating real challenges for Medicaid and Medicare revenue, behavioral health access and compliance.

But updating workflows and mapping dual-code billing now can help to avoid delays that disrupt funding and patient care.

This concise guide explains exactly what’s changing – and how forward-thinking FQHCs are preparing to stay ahead.

Download to Learn:

• The updated CMS timeline: what ends September 30, what to bill by December 31, and what extends to 2026
• How to navigate dual-code billing (CMS vs. AMA) without costly denials or delays, and
• Strategies to protect cash flow and maintain access for high-barrier Medicaid and Medicare patients

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August 18, 2025

Whitepaper: Tiny Voices, Big Complexity: 8 Children’s Hospitals Find AI that Gets the Stakes from Day One

Children’s hospitals face unique challenges in care delivery, as young patients are often unable to articulate symptoms fully, creating barriers for immediate treatment. Traditional adult-centric technologies often underperform in these dynamic environments, leaving potential improvements unrealized.

Increasing dependence on inefficient documentation tools exacerbates challenges, disturbs family engagement and diverts clinician attention away from the child, increasing stress for all parties involved.

The whitepaper demonstrates how eight children’s hospitals – including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children’s and Boston Children’s Hospital – are utilizing ambient AI to streamline documentation processes, improve efficiency and enhance patient care.

Earnings Include:

• Documented reductions in clinicians’ EHR time and enhanced focus during patient interactions,
• How hospitals achieve better family communication and decision-making, and
• Real outcomes from prominent institutions that showcase enhanced billing accuracy and operational excellence.

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August 18, 2025

Feds Dismantle Ransomware Group That Targeted Hospitals

Federal agencies have disrupted the operations of a ransomware group that was targeting critical industries, including healthcare.

In cooperation with international partners, U.S. law enforcement seized servers, domains and digital assets employed by the BlackSuit ransomware gang to hack victims and extort and launder money, the Justice Department said August 11. The government has also confiscated $1.09 million in virtual currency from the group.

“There is no doubt that the private sector also contributed information to facilitate this disruption, once again highlighting the value of public-private operational engagement,” said John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association, in an August 11 news release. “The BlackSuit/Royal ransomware group is directly responsible for multiple disruptive attacks against hospitals and health systems, posing a direct risk to patient and community safety. We hope these aggressive law enforcement operations continue at a pace that will meaningfully degrade foreign cyber adversaries’ abilities to harm the American public.”

The operation was conducted by the department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, IRS and FBI.

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August 15, 2025

Whitepaper: Three Ways to Improve Cybersecurity Amid Healthcare’s Cyber Crisis

Recently, a wave of cyberattacks forced healthcare executives to reckon with an uncomfortable truth: traditional cybersecurity strategies are no longer enough.

This report from Advisory Board shares how more than 10 experts – from provider organizations and digital health firms to consulting leaders – are redefining what cyber resilience means in an era of third-party interdependence.

It outlines a strategic shift from reactive defense to collaborative, systemwide resilience – and the practical steps leaders are taking to manage operational risk, strengthen contracts and reduce exposure across complex networks.

Download this whitepaper to learn:

• Ways that health systems are reassessing third-party vendor contracts and performance metrics,
• Tactics to improve communication with partners and regulators to contain risk, and examples of resilience-driven models that ensure continuity during cyber incidents.

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August 15, 2025

Whitepaper: 3 Ways to Improve Cybersecurity Amid Healthcare’s Cyber Crisis

Recently, a wave of cyberattacks forced healthcare executives to reckon with an uncomfortable truth: traditional cybersecurity strategies are no longer enough.

This report from Advisory Board shares how more than 10 experts  from provider organizations and digital health firms to consulting leaders – are redefining what cyber resilience means in an era of third-party interdependence.

It outlines a strategic shift from reactive defense to collaborative, systemwide resilience – and the practical steps leaders are taking to manage operational risk, strengthen contracts and reduce exposure across complex networks.

Download the report to learn:

• Ways that health systems are reassessing third-party vendor contracts and performance metrics,
• Tactics to improve communication with partners and regulators to contain risk, and
• Examples of resilience-driven models that ensure continuity during cyber incidents.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

August 6, 2025

Whitepaper: Expanding Access to Care and Improving Clinician Wellbeing at FQHCs with AI

Abridge FQHC partners – El Rio Health, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, TrueCare, and AltaMed Health Services – are integrating generative AI for clinical documentation to expand access to care by as much as 25% by boosting efficiency and enhancing clinician and patient experiences.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a crucial part of the U.S. healthcare system, ensuring access to quality care in underserved areas, regardless of patients’ ability to pay.

Abridge has developed a deep partnership model to adapt to the unique needs of FQHCs across the country, including robust multilingual support and ease of implementation of advanced AI technology.

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