Featured Insights
Our latest thinking on the issues that matter most in business and management
Recent Insights
M&A Quarterly Activity Report: Q2 2022
We saw a full return in Q2 2022 to the pandemic-era trend of fewer but larger hospital and health system transactions. Several large transactions boosted the average smaller party size to a record-setting $1.5 billion.
Research Report
National Hospital Flash Report: June 2022
Kaufman Hall analysis shows some improvement in revenues and volumes from April to May ‘22, but hospitals continue to perform below pre-pandemic levels.
Research Report
Physician Flash Report: January 2022
U.S. physician practices ended 2021 with sizeable gains in physician productivity and revenues relative to late 2020 performance, but mounting expenses and high levels of investments/subsidies required to support practice operations continue to be areas of concern.
Research Report
2021 M&A in Review: A New Phase in Healthcare Partnerships
The number of hospital and health system M&A transactions was down in 2021, but the size of transactions was up significantly, with the largest percentage of announced “mega merger” transactions in the last six years.
Research Report
Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Viewing Workforce Needs with a Beginner’s Mind
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.” This famous observation by Shunryu Suzuki, which posits the importance of intellectual...
Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
A Leadership Playbook for Equity
When it comes to equity, healthcare organizations face three different and very difficult challenges: health disparities among patient populations, income inequality in the healthcare...
Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Developing a Point of View About Inflation
In February, U.S. inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index grew 7.9% year-over-year, the highest increase in four decades. The factors influencing the current inflationary...
Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Thoughts from Lisa Goldstein
Who's Bucking the Trend?
It’s not all bad news when it comes to not-for-profit hospital financial performance. Some hospitals and health systems are navigating labor pressures and reporting improving results.
Blog
ESG Scores: What We Know and Don’t Know
ESG scores from rating agencies reflect the risk that ESG issues will affect a hospital’s ability to earn cash flow and repay its debt, but are not “gold stars” for a sophisticated or well-considered ESG strategy.
Blog
Covenant Challenges Signal Need to Chart a Path to Sustainability
The possibility of breached covenants is a symptom of deeper problems that require an all-hands-on-deck approach to get back on a sustainable path.
Blog
Trending in Healthcare Treasury and Capital Markets
How Intractable Will Inflation Be?
2022 is not the 1980s, but lessons learned during earlier battles with inflation can help inform scenarios of what we might be facing today if inflation proves more intractable than our current government and policy leaders anticipate.
Blog
A Midyear Assessment
In a midyear assessment, we look at the current situation from the angles of inflation and labor, Federal Reserve activity, key benchmarks, and risk indicators and the funding environment.
Blog
Inflation and Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics describes how human error can upend statistical or logical expectations. This may have serious implications for the Fed’s efforts to control inflation.
Blog