March 24, 2025

Article: The Biggest Lessons of the Last 12 months, according to 36 C-suite Execs

Becker’s asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their biggest lesson from the past year.

Question: What is the biggest lesson you learned in the last year, and why?

• Craig Albanese, MD, MBA. CEO of Duke University Health System:

Innovation isn’t just about adopting new technology – it’s about transforming the way we think AND ultimately how we do our work in servitude to those who come to us for hope, health and healing. At Duke Health, we’re focused on embracing and integrating AI, digital health, and new care models to improve patient outcomes and team member experience. Change is constant in healthcare, and a commitment to purposeful innovation, paired with a growth mindset, keeps us ahead in delivering our missions of world-class clinical care, research, education, and community health.

• Erik Wexler. CEO of Providence (Rendon, Wash.):

What’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last year? When leaders get promoted from within, it’s easy to assume you know everything there is to know about the organization. Last year, as I was preparing for my new role at Providence, I didn’t want to make any assumptions. Instead, I wanted to approach it with curiosity and hear directly from our caregivers, medical staff, leaders, and board members in the field. Over the course of three months, I met with more than 4,000 people from across our seven states, from medical staff members and frontline caregivers to board members and administrators. It gave me valuable perspective and helped populate our new strategic plan for 2030. I am better prepared now as CEO, and as I have during my leadership journey, I will continue to dialogue and engage with those who bring our mission to life.

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March 24, 2025

Article: Health System C-Suites Ready to Play Offense

Hospital margins remain tight and while they’re growing, around 37% of hospitals are still losing money, according to Kaufman Hall.

The persistent financial challenges have sparked a variety of initiatives in the last few years to find cost savings and efficiencies while eliminating waste and adding revenue streams. Health systems have been playing defense, reacting to economic challenges, inflation, staffing shortages and new regulations in real time. For some health systems, that has meant workforce reductions, cutting services, severing ties with insurers and consolidation.

Now, it’s time to play offense.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the past year is that financial strength and strategic growth start with empathy and open-minded leadership,” said Sham Firdausi, CFO of ScionHealth – Watertown Regional in Louisville, Ky. “Playing defense isn’t sustainable and cost-cutting alone won’t secure our future. Instead, we’ve focused on thoughtful investments that improve patient care, support our workforce and drive long-term stability.”

ScionHealth is leveraging technology to ease staff burdens and restructuring service lines to meet the needs of their community instead of emphasizing cuts. Mr. Firdausi said every decision his team makes must have clinical and financial value. He engages physicians and frontline staff as well as financial leaders in decision-making to forge strategic alignment and move from strategy to execution.

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March 17, 2025

Article: Senate Passes Bill with Key Healthcare Extensions, no Medicare Physician Pay Fix

The Senate voted March 14 to approve a government funding bill that extends key healthcare provisions, delays Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts and provides additional support for rural hospitals.

The legislation passed the Senate in a 54 – 46 vote and president Donald Trump signed it into law on March 15.

The House had earlier passed the bill on March 11 in a 217 – 213 vote, ensuring government operations continue through September 30. Key healthcare provisions in the bill include:

• Elimination of Medicaid DSH cuts through September 30,
• Extension of telehealth waivers and the hospital-at-home program through September 30,
• Expansion of the enhanced low-volume adjustment program through September 30 and the Medicare-dependent hospital program through October 1,
• Continuation of add-on payments for rural ambulance services through October 1

However, the bill does not address the 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut, a major setback for physicians and medical groups. A temporary 2.5% Medicare physician pay bump that took effect January 1 is absent from the funding package. The legislation does, however, review a boost to the Medicare work geographic practice cost index, which benefits rural physicians.

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March 17, 2025

WhidbeyHealth Averts $220 Revenue Leakage per Emergency Department Patient

Numerous factors contribute to revenue leakage in Eds, including ineffective charge capture practices, inadequate billing processes, and challenges in accurately coding services provided.

WhidbeyHealth Medical Center used Ventus Intelligent Coding to transform their ED coding processes, streamline operations, and ensure more accurate charge capture. As a result, they achieved a remarkable 21% increase in revenue per patient visit within just 90 days of implementation.

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March 17, 2025

Healthcare Quality Trends: 45 Key Stats

A March 11 report from the Peterson Center on healthcare and KFF tracks the performance of healthcare systems over the last few decades. The report lists 45 statistics you need to know about:

• Treatment outcomes
• Appropriate treatment
• Patient Safety
• Preventive Services
• Health System capacity and workforce shortage

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March 14, 2025

Article: CMS Pitches Shortening ACA Enrollment Period: 5 Things to Know

CMS is proposing a set of new regulations for ACA marketplaces, including shortening the annual enrollment window and rescinding eligibility for DACA recipients. In a March 10 news release, the agency said the changes are designed to address “the troubling amount of improper enrollments” in the marketplace. In the first quarter of 2024, CMS said it received 40,000 complaints of customers being enrolled in ACA plans, or switched into a new plan, without their knowledge.

Five things to know about the proposed rules:

• The agency pitched shortening the annual enrollment period by one month.
  • Under the proposed rule, open enrollment would run from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.
  • Currently, the open enrollment period begins Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 15.
  • The change would align more closely with enrollment dates for employer-sponsored coverage, and
  • “reduce the risk of adverse selection from consumers who otherwise may wait to enroll until they need healthcare services,” according to the agency.
• The proposed rules would also eliminate a special enrollment period that allows individuals with incomes under 150% of the federal poverty limit to enroll in coverage in any month.
  • The policy “allows people to wait to enroll until they become sick,” the agency said.
• The regulation would reverse a proposal by the Biden administration that would have allowed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients to enroll in ACA plans.
  • The DACA program allows individuals brought to the U.S. as children without legal status to remain in the country.
  • In December 2024, a federal judge blocked DACA recipients from enrolling in ACA plans.
• Under the new regulations, consumers would be required to re-verify their eligibility for fully subsidized plans each year.
  • If enrollees do not verify their eligibility, they will pay a $5 monthly premium until they confirm or update their eligibility.
  • The change would cut back on fraud by ensuring individuals are aware of the coverage they are enrolled in, CMS said.
• The rule would bar insurers from covering “sex trait modification services,” or gender-affirming care, as essential health benefits.
  • The proposal would not prohibit health plans from voluntarily covering these services, the agency said.

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March 14, 2025

Whitepaper: Breaking Language Barriers: One Hospital’s Path to Patient Trust

Language barriers between patients and staff pose a significant threat to care quality and patient satisfaction, especially for hospitals serving diverse communities. These barriers can lead to care delays, miscommunication and frustration, affecting both patient trust and staff efficiency.

This case study explores how Onvida Health – formerly Yuma (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center – redesigned its language services program to refine daily operations, boost patient satisfaction and improve care outcomes. Learn how the system implemented practical solutions and operational changes to:

• Build patient trust
• Foster a culturally and linguistically inclusive environment
• Significantly improve language access and encounter times
• Achieve a 4.9/5 interpreter satisfaction rating

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March 14, 2025

Article: GLP-1s Reshape Key Service Lines: What to Know

Blockbuster GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are transforming patient care, altering surgery volumes and redefining the healthcare industry’s financial landscape.

The obesity drug market could reach $200 billion by 2031, according to industry projections. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some health systems and industry disruptors are expanding weight loss programs in response to the growing demand for GLP-1s.

Beyond weight loss programs, GLP-1 medications are influencing multiple hospital and ambulatory surgery center service lines. In healthcare C-suits, this trend in influencing long-term operational and financial decisions, especially as GLP-1 medicines affect elective surgery volumes.

Elective surgeries are a substantial revenue source for hospitals and ASCs, and several procedures could rapidly decline in volume over the next few years.

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