The ACA requires nonprofit hospitals to have a FAP, make it publicly available, and refrain from taking extraordinary debt collection actions before determining FAP eligibility. However, there is no federal requirement for a minimum level of financial assistance hospitals must provide. As a result, eligibility requirements and available discounts vary considerably across U.S. hospitals.
The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing released a report on the financial health of Colorado's hospitals. While some are showing financial strength, others appear to be struggling. The 2025 Hospital Financial Transparency Report shows that much of the hospital industry in Colorado is healthy, but this isn't the case for everyone. Denver Health, Colorado's largest safety net hospital, critical access and rural hospitals are facing financial pressures. Most of the $1.5 billion in profits in 2023 were concentrated in urban, nonprofit tax-exempt hospitals. The department said about one-third of Colorado hospitals, including many rural hospitals and Denver Health, saw negative profit margins. From 2022 to 2023 Colorado hospitals' patient revenues grew by 4.8%, but higher labor costs, supply chain expenses and inflation growth have narrowed profit margins.
MedPAC is recommending that Congress update Medicare payment rates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services by the current law amount plus 1% for 2026 and reiterated its recommendation to distribute an additional $4 billion to safety-net hospitals by transitioning to a Medicare safety-net index policy.
New reports out Thursday provide an inside look at the health of Colorado hospitals: what's coming in and what's being put back into the community. And while hospital profits grow, so do expenses. After years of operating in the dark, hospitals across Colorado are now required to disclose more information than ever before.
OrthoCarolina, one of the nation's largest independently owned orthopedic practices, is close to a deal to sell its physical therapy business to PT Solutions Physical Therapy, an Atlanta-based company backed by private equity. The pending sale is the latest example of private equity's growing presence in health care in North Carolina — a trend that has sparked opportunities for growth and concerns about the potential effects on patient care.
Bankrupt hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. won court permission to start drawing from its $100 million Chapter 11 financing despite a challenge from landlord Medical Properties Trust Inc. Judge Stacey G.C. Jernigan said late Tuesday she'd authorized Prospect's request after company advisers testified that the hospital operator's cash dwindled to about $3 million before filing for protection on Jan. 11. MPT challenged the financing, saying it improperly puts the new debt ahead of its liens.