HCA Healthcare says hurricanes Helene and Milton will cause $250 million to $350 million in additional expenses and lost revenue at its facilities in Florida and other states. In a report filed with the SEC, the hospital industry giant says that during Q3, it incurred an estimated $50 million in additional expenses and lost revenue in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina because of Helene. It expects additional expenses during the fourth quarter of $200 million to $300 million because of continued effects of Helene in North Carolina and because of Milton.
A month after Atrium announced it was erasing thousands of judgments filed against patients for medical debt, four other N.C. hospitals with large numbers of medical debt lawsuits said they have taken the same step.
Envision Healthcare announced the appointment of J. Michael Bruff as CFO. Bruff steps into the role as current Envision CFO Henry Howe prepares to transition out of the organization at the beginning of January. Howe will serve as a senior advisor to the executive team during the transition. Megan Barney, Envision's current CIO, also will be departing in early January. The organization has started a search to fill the position.
HCA Healthcare reported that recent hurricanes had and will have negative impacts on results, and shares slumped about 10% Friday afternoon. The insurer posted third-quarter earnings per share of $4.88, with revenue rising 8% to $17.49 billion. Both missed consensus forecasts. HCA says it 'incurred additional expenses and experienced loss of revenues estimated at $50 million, or $0.15 per diluted share,' associated with Hurricane Helene's impact on hospitals in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Federal price transparency rules are showing signs of stoking more hospital competition and making prices more reflective of the cost of care, a new review found. There's still limited understanding of how the rules are affecting market dynamics, and experts acknowledge they haven't yet translated to lower across-the-board patient costs. Turquoise Health examined more than 390,000 rates that health systems negotiated with insurers for 37 common services in the 10 biggest U.S. metro areas. "We're still in the early days, but we see encouraging signs that price transparency is helping make progress" rebuilding healthcare competition and lowering some prices, said Forrest Xiao, the company's director of quantitative research.
Heading into FY 2025, states are expected to wrap up unwinding-related eligibility redeterminations for Medicaid; however, uncertainty remains regarding post-unwinding Medicaid spending and enrollment trends and what the new "normal" will look like. Adding to this uncertainty are the loss of pandemic-related enhanced federal funding, shifts in state fiscal conditions, and the upcoming election, all which can have implications for Medicaid spending trends.