A recent investor conversation at the Kaufman Hall Healthcare Leadership Conference offers insights as to where investors are focused today, and what borrowers can do to meet the market on favorable terms.

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.