All Featured Insights

A growth strategy focused on access, accretive opportunities, and ambulatory represents a new “Triple A” for hospitals and health systems.

Midway through 2024, we are seeing a sustained trend of stronger performance. Revenue and expense trends and length of stay will be indicators for the months ahead, but for now, good planning and tough decisions are translating into better results.

The new generation of weight-loss drugs has the potential to help reduce prevalence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, two of the most prevalent chronic conditions. How might that affect hospital operations and capital and financial planning?

Rating meetings should include a meaningful discussion of notable achievements along with a frank, no-spin discussion of the risks the organization is facing. This balance will build credibility with the rating analyst and, ultimately, the rating committee.

Steward Health Care’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is one of the largest health system bankruptcies in recent memory. Although Steward is a for-profit system, there are important lessons that not-for-profit health system leaders can learn from the Steward bankruptcy.

While days cash on hand is a pillar liquidity ratio for healthcare, liquidity is an equally important concept. There is a difference between wealth and liquidity, and recent events have demonstrated the growing importance of the latter.

The Change Healthcare cyberattack is a reminder of the need to prepare for future risk events. Organizations should ensure adequate and diverse liquidity sources and allocate certain assets in the investment portfolio to protect and preserve their core mission.

Upgrades and downgrades reflect the realities of what ratings are intended to do, which is to reflect the rating agency’s best assessment of an organization’s performance for investors. Upgrades must be earned and downgrades may happen quickly, but affirmations are most typical.

Watch an engaging discussion with Moody’s, Fitch and S&P on their latest industry outlooks, rating activity through early 2024 and what this means for the sector.

The higher education sector leaders from the three rating agencies share their insights on 2024 outlooks, growth strategies, consolidation within higher education, and current rating committee concerns.

How you tell the story of your organization is as important as the story itself. Paying attention to three key themes will help ensure that your best voice is being heard in rating committee.

There was a general improvement in operating margins over the course of 2023, and it is possible that we have reached a point of stability. But with margins still well below pre-pandemic levels, will that level of stability provide sustainability?