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Unemployment claims nationwide have remained largely stable over the past year. However, state-level changes varied significantly, ranging from a 45% decrease to a 65% increase, according to a Dec. 4 analysis from personal finance website WalletHub.  Alabama saw the largest week-over-week decrease, while North Dakota had the steepest year-over-year drop…

Forbes launched an inaugural quality ranking of U.S. general acute care hospitals Dec. 4, which analyzes data on outcomes, best practices, value and patient experience.  The media company said its list, “Forbes Top Hospitals 2026,” differs from other hospital rankings and ratings in three key ways. First, the primary quality…

One in 4 patients say they’ve switched healthcare providers because they lost trust in them, marketing agency Monigle found. Here are the top 12 reasons consumers don’t trust their providers, according to the survey of 1,000 household healthcare decision-makers published in November: 1. Rushed or unpersonalized care: 23% 2. Financial…

The American Hospital Association outlined five key ways hospitals and health systems are reimagining their workforce strategies in a Dec. 3 report. The association’s 2026 Health Care Workforce Scan report offers an annual snapshot of healthcare employment based on the latest industry reports and research. AHA said health systems will…

Major shifts to Medicaid eligibility and financing set to take effect under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2026 and beyond are emerging as a top concern for revenue cycle leaders, who say the changes could further intensify financial pressures. “We used to talk about try[ing] to make a…

Months after the CDC eliminated its infection control committee, two epidemiology organizations have created the Healthcare Infection Prevention Advisory Group.  The two organizations, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, said in a Dec. 2 news release that the advisory…

With Medicare Advantage enrollment approaching 55% of eligible beneficiaries, health systems across the country are grappling with a question that’s gone largely unaddressed in policy circles: What happens if the healthcare providers best equipped to care for seniors can no longer afford to participate? Over the past couple of years,…

The revenue gap between large and small health systems grew starker this year, and will likely continue to widen as HR-1 takes effect in the coming years. Operating revenue for health systems overall grew 3.1% for January through September of2025 compared to 2024, according to Strata’s “Performance Trends Report: Market…

The unemployment gap between high school and college graduates ages 22-27 has reached its lowest level since the late 1970s, according to a Nov. 24 analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Here are five things to know: 1. The unemployment gap has steadily declined since the 2008 financial…

Health systems nationwide are navigating a growing number of payer-driven rules that influence how care is delivered, documented and reimbursed. For clinical and financial leaders, these pressures have become central to both daily operations and long-term strategy. At New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System, Stephen Teitelbaum, MD, senior vice…

Culture profoundly shapes organizational, team and individual performance. It can propel organizations toward excellence — or hold them back in risk and stagnation. Too often, however, employees view culture as something distant, external, or imposed from above. They forget an essential truth: we are the culture. Each of us, through…

Flu activity remains low but is increasing nationwide, particularly among children and young adults, new CDC data shows. Outpatient visits and hospitalizations for flu have risen in recent weeks, according to the CDC’s latest FluView update published Dec. 1. In the week ending Nov. 22, the U.S. reported 3,264 flu-related…

Health systems across the U.S. are being confronted by four major forces during a “new era of unprecedented uncertainty,” according to a Nov. 18 McKinsey report. The impact of the forces — which could cause margin pressures of 2 to 13 percentage points for health systems — lies largely on…

The rural family physician workforce shrank 11% from 2017 to 2023, marking an ongoing shortage in primary care access, according to a study published in November in the Annals of Family Medicine. Lead author Colleen Fogarty, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of…

Several health systems are making major bets on new Epic EHR platforms and expect to see substantial returns, with leaders pointing to application consolidation, efficiency gains and reduced administrative burden as key drivers. Minot, N.D.-based Trinity Health expects its Epic implementation to generate nearly $1 billion in return on investment,…

Hospital-at-home treatment could be one way to “solve the rural healthcare crisis,” researchers from Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham say. Here are six findings from their Dec. 1 JAMA Network Open study, which randomly assigned 161 adult patients from Quincy, Ill.-based Blessing Hospital (IL), Hazard (Ky.) Appalachian Regional Healthcare Regional…

The Rockdale County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office, along with other law enforcement agencies, is searching for an incarcerated patient who allegedly escaped custody after being transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for a medical examination following a reported suicide attempt, according to the sheriff’s office. In a statement, sheriff’s deputies…

While Epic sends staffers to health systems to educate healthcare workers about its EHR, the dynamic goes the other way as well. Health systems around the country routinely dispatch employees to Epic’s massive headquarters in small-town Wisconsin to learn how to implement the company’s software. “We have people now coming…

At 9.7%, Gallup polling has found the highest-ever percentage of U.S. adults who report receiving a cancer diagnosis, the analytics firm said Nov. 24.  The 2024-2025 figure is a significant increase from the 7% Gallup reported in 2008-2009. The percentage of adults reporting a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime has…

On average, oncology accounts for about 70% of hospital drug expenditures, according to IQVIA data covering the U.S. and 11 other countries.  Countries approach drug spending in several different ways, clinical research firm IQVIA said in an Oct. 21 report. For example, voluntary insurance schemes account for a significant portion…

Two years ago news coverage warned of a national nursing shortage. Vacancies surged, burnout dominated conversations, and hospitals stretched themselves to staff essential units. Today the sense of alarm has faded. Inside hospitals, however, the crisis has not passed. Administrators still struggle to fill shifts, and the conditions that pushed…

The financial performance of some of the country’s largest nonprofit and for-profit health systems in the third quarter of 2025 reflects a sector making cautious strides toward stability, but not all players are on equal footing. For-profit systems — including HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems and Universal Health…

Artificial intelligence is only as strong as the data behind it. Healthcare leaders are working with their teams to build the infrastructure, governance, and culture necessary to support AI at scale. Healthcare leaders gathered at the AI Summit during the Becker’s CEO+CFO Roundtable in early November to discuss the need…

Hospitals and health systems have consistently focused on recruiting top talent. While this remains a key priority, retention is gaining prominence amid ongoing workforce challenges. In 2025, 2 in 5 healthcare workers reported feeling their role is unsustainable, and 1 in 4 said they are considering leaving the industry entirely,…