From managing non-labor expenses to strengthening the workforce, expanding access and navigating payer reimbursement, health systems shared the key challenges shaping their focus this year—and their planning for the year ahead.

Hospital volumes remained strong in October, while average length of stay declined, translating to a dip in net revenue per discharge. Bad debt and charity care continue to rise, and staffing levels are tightening.

The latest Kaufman Hall Report includes highlights from the annual Healthcare Leadership Conference.

Burnout continues to challenge physicians, and new data from The Permanente Medical Group shows ambient AI scribes may help ease the burden.

The most recent National Hospital Flash Report highlights stabilizing hospital margins, with a persistent gap in hospital performance, according to September 2025 data.

Healthcare sector delivers best-performing quarter, affordability crisis deepens, CMS proposes Medicare Advantage star ratings overhaul

The healthcare payment landscape continues to face uncertainty as support grows for additional “site neutrality” in reimbursement, with the policy goal of reducing or eliminating payment differentials between hospital-based outpatient departments (HOPDs) and freestanding physician offices or ambulatory care sites for the same services.

The role of Treasury in healthcare is changing. Once primarily viewed as the department that moved cash and managed bank accounts, Treasury has become the conduit for moving financial information across the organization.

Health system executive leaders and boards have recently weathered numerous existential challenges, from COVID-19 to cyberattacks to the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Healthcare is facing its own Apollo 13 moment. In his latest blog, Vizient President and CEO Byron Jobe shares how leaders can navigate today’s uncertainty by widening the circle, strengthening alignment and turning isolated insights into coordinated action.

In this episode, Chris DeRienzo, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive for the American Hospital Association, discusses findings from the latest Vizient and AHA analysis, including how delayed discharges and administrative demands affect care delivery.

The number of physicians exiting traditional Medicare has accelerated, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the annual exit rate climbing from less than 1% in 2013 to nearly 5% in 2023, a new JAMA study has found.