What finance topics took the spotlight this year?
CFOs Grapples with Physician Shortages and Hardball Payers Tactics
The HealthLeaders CFO Exchange brought on a fiery discussion on payers and physician shortages. CFOs are grappling with adaptation to shifting payer strategies and value-based care, and they may have to employ harder tactics to stay on top of payers. In this article we hear from several HealthLeaders Exchange members on their biggest pain points and insights and advice for dealing with physician shortages and strategizing with payers.
Providers Are Fed Up With Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage is never a dull topic, but this year brought ongoing controversy around the program. In this article we looked at Sanford Health as the latest system to drop its MA plan with Humana and where the MA trends are heading.
'Value-Based Care Can't Be a Side Hustle' — How Advocate Health Saved $135M
Preventative care, robust technology, and dedicated clinicians are key ingredients in the recipe for successful value-based care. In this article we spoke with the CFO of Advocate Health to learn how the health system saved $135 million under two federal programs with an emphasis on value-based care.
New Bill Aims to Increase Physician Pay, Block Medicare Cuts
In this article we examined a bill called The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act that would, if passed, boost physician pay by 4.7%, replacing Medicare’s planned 2.8% pay cut. We analyzed how CFOs would need to prepare for both scenarios, if this bill does or does not pass, and carefully how they will need to strategize around the implications of this policy.
Five Hospitals Shut Down in a Rising Tide of Closures
While the operating margins of some hospitals have improved this year, others are facing a different reality. In this article we looked at some of the root causes for hospital closures including increased regulatory requirements that impose significant financial and operational burdens on hospitals, particularly rural hospitals.
Marie DeFreitas is the CFO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
From Medicare Advantage woes, to staffing challenges, CFOs dealt with a lot this year.
A handful of finance stories in particular clicked with HealthLeaders’ readers.
Look back on the top HealthLeaders finance articles for 2025.