Suzanne York

The American Hospital Association has issued its 2026 Cost of Caring Report, which shows that hospital expenses are going twice as fast as hospital prices. One of the key drivers of those cost increases is the amount hospitals must spend to attempt to collect payments owed by health insurers for medical care that the hospitals […]

A report published by the Rural Health Research Center at the University of Minnesota shows a widespread lack of hospital-based obstetric services in rural counties. As stated in the report’s executive summary, this has national and local implications: Access to hospital-based obstetric care declined from 2010-2013, particularly in rural areas, and access varies across US

Since his retirement, our partner Jack Drake has written a book, Be Not Afraid, which is being published by the University of Alabama Press.  Since Jack was involved in many of the important legal and political events in Alabama including those related to civil rights, he brings a unique perspective to the history of those

Bloomberg has reported that Humana is in discussions with Sarasota, Florida-based MaxHealth to purchase its primary care network. In a February 11, 2026 earnings call, Humana’s President and CEO Jim Rechtin confirmed that “we also hope to soon announce a strategic acquisition in the primary care space.” MaxHealth is a primary care platform focused on

Based on their fourth quarter earnings reports, Becker’s Hospital Review has ranked the nation’s payers by their 2025 net income.  Here are their rankings: UnitedHealth Group, with $12.1 billion in profits Cigna, with $6 billion in profits Elevance Health, with $5.7 billion in profits CVS Health, with $1.8 billion in profits Humana, with $1.2 billion

An online article posted on Axios Vitals highlights the problems patients and providers face with obtaining prior authorizations from Medicare Advantage plans. The article cites a KFF finding that there were 53 million prior authorization requests made to Medicare Advantage plans in 2024, of which 8% were fully or partially denied. As stated by Representative

CMS awarded grants to all fifty states under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Now states have until January 30, 2026 to resubmit budgets showing how they intend to use their grant money to implement their proposed projects and CMS has 30 days to respond. These next steps will be critical in showing whether rural hospitals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded grants to all fifty states under the Rural Health Transformation Program. The average grant for 2026 is $200,000, with grants ranging from $147 million to $281 million. The states receiving the highest amount of grants were Texas at $218 million, Alaska at $272 million, and California

Becker’s Hospital Review has published an article detailing the myriad policy changes to be implemented in 2026 that will impact hospitals and other medical providers. Among the most significant policy changes are: The expiration of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that allowed households earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level

The New York State Department of Health has issued new rules governing the temporary or permanent closures of healthcare facilities. The new rules updated and clarified previous rules governing facility closures. Under the new rules, healthcare facilities may not close, discontinue services or reduce beds without prior approval of the facility’s Closure Plan. Temporary closures