We are in the midst of a national crisis affecting the lives of more than 100 million Americans, including people right here in my home state of Colorado. This crisis is worsening racial disparities in health and wealth.
Stocks of hospital operators are falling harder than the broader market on Friday after earnings reports from Tenet Healthcare Corp. and industry-giant HCA Healthcare Inc. underwhelmed investors. Tenet plunged by as much as 29%, the most intraday since November 2008, after its net operating revenue guidance for the year was trimmed, taking the outlook below the average view on Wall Street. HCA fell as much as 12% after its third-quarter results included revenue that narrowly missed consensus expectations, erasing more than $6 billion in value from its market cap.
The U.S. has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates among developed countries. Researchers from North Carolina to the West Coast are working with parents like Vu-An Foster to understand why.
We've heard about the "Silver Tsunami," and it has arrived, with some 10,000 Americans turning 65 each day since 2010. We know that our aging population has complex needs, requiring more post-acute and in-home care as well as other community-based support.
Hospitals here hope to cut costs by decreasing their reliance on travel nurses after labor expenses increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’ll likely have to pay staff nurses somewhat more to do so. Shelby Stokoe, chief financial officer for the Providence Inland Northwest Washington service area, says she had hoped to see hospitals begin to recover financially from the pandemic this year, but the opposite has occurred.