- Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center made a decision to close its doors effective November 1, 2022. The hospital, which incurred a $107 million loss last year, said it had been battling decreased revenue and increased staff and supply costs. The 460-bed hospital is currently one of two Level 1 Trauma Centers in Atlanta.
- A Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis health care construction report indicated that health care construction spending continues to surge in the face of soaring expenses. The report cited examples such as: 1) A $1 billion renovation of the John Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis; 2) A $500 million donation to UC San Francisco to accelerate plans to build a new hospital at its Parnassus Heights campus, which will cost an estimated $1.5 billion; and 3) Long Beach, California-based Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center, which is planning $387 million worth of renovations, including a new mental health facility and community living center.
- ASC operators continue to grow. AmSurg reported net revenue of $570.4 million for 1Q 2022, up 12% year-over-year. Surgical Care Affiliates reported a 21.5% growth in net operating revenues from $192.7 million to $234.1 million. United Surgical Partners International reported a 17% increase in its first quarter operating income to $55.8 million.
- Rising housing costs are starting to hinder hospital operations in some cases. Becker’s Hospital Review highlighted the plight of Alaska-based Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center and several hospitals in Idaho, including St. Alphonsus Health System, who are struggling to fill vacant clinical positions due to the high cost of housing within the vicinity of the hospitals.
- July’s hospital margins were among the worst of the pandemic, according to a recent update from Kaufman Hall. The update cited a number of causes for the declining margins, including the depletion of pandemic-related federal funding sources, a trend toward ambulatory procedures and the fact that those patients who are coming to the hospital are experiencing longer stays on average.
- A new study released by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that without selling their homes, 72% of middle-income seniors (11.5 million people) will have insufficient resources to pay for private assisted living by 2033. The study determined that private assisted living and medical care will cost around $5,400 per month per person by 2033.
- The North Carolina Treasurer wants the state Supreme Court to examine North Carolina’s certificate of need laws. Treasurer Dale Folwell as well as the Mercatus Center at George Mason University filed amicus (friend of the court) briefs in support of a challenge to the state’s CON regulations. Current CON laws restrict providers’ ability to develop new facilities and service lines.
- CarePoint Health filed an antitrust lawsuit in New Jersey District Court against a competitor. The suit alleges that RWJ Barnabas conspired with third-party real estate agents to engage in “serial acquisitions” of competing medical care providers centered in northern New Jersey to the detriment of CarePoint “and the public.”
- Walmart recently announced a partnership with UnitedHealth Group and Optum to delve deeper into hands-on patient care. The 10-year collaboration will start at existing Walmart Health facilities in Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and Illinois and will look to expand in the future, including a transparent pricing strategy for medical, dental, optometry, hearing and diagnostic services. There are also plans for a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan in Georgia.
- CVS submitted the winning bid to buy Signify Health for about $8 billion. The deal marks a push by CVS into the home health care space as competitors such as Amazon and Walgreens seek similar expansions in clinical strategy.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
