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Walmart Global eCommerce office, also known as WalmartLabs, in Sunnyvale, California on February 25, 2018. (Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The finances of hospitals and health systems are performing surprisingly well in the face of unprecedented competition coming their way from rapidly consolidating providers of outpatient care, according to a new Fitch Ratings analysis.
The Fitch report provides a snapshot of the financial health of not-for-profit hospitals, showing upgrades have outpaced downgrades, “27% to 13%” since January for hospitals the agency had placed on a “Rating Watch.” Fitch looked at a cross section of more than 50 hospitals including small independent facilities to larger multi-hospital systems.
“We’re a little surprised by this because it’s tough out there right now in the healthcare environment,” Fitch Ratings senior director Kevin Holloran , one of the report’s authors, said in an interview. “I wouldn’t say this is the calm before the storm but more like the calm before more and more rapid change.”
Fitch rates the hospitals’ tax-exempt bonds and looks at a variety of things including “balance sheet strength,” which the agency says is key to the ratings of most hospitals and “particularly those undergoing financial pressure or transformation.” The measures are critical to the industry given not-for-profit facilities account for the majority of U.S. acute care hospitals.
Not-for-profit hospitals are under particular pressure given the major mergers in the news lately are designed to keep patients out of the hospital for as much care as possible while escalating the move away from fee-for-service medicine to value-based care.
CVS Health’s proposed acquisition of health insurance giant Aetna is expected to lead to an expansion of services in CVS pharmacies and retail clinics as a way to capture patients in lower cost settings and save premium dollars paid by Aetna clients, employers and those covered by Medicare and Medicaid insurance. There have also been reports Walmart wants to buy Humana or at the very least collaborate on ways to bring more patients insured by Humana into Walmarts for outpatient care, prescriptions and other health services.
And the Optum health services unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group is spending billions of dollars on acquisitions of medical care providers like the $4.9 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group that is expected to close soon.
">Walmart Global eCommerce office, also known as WalmartLabs, in Sunnyvale, California on February 25, 2018. (Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The finances of hospitals and health systems are performing surprisingly well in the face of unprecedented competition coming their way from rapidly consolidating providers of outpatient care, according to a new Fitch Ratings analysis.
The Fitch report provides a snapshot of the financial health of not-for-profit hospitals, showing upgrades have outpaced downgrades, “27% to 13%” since January for hospitals the agency had placed on a “Rating Watch.” Fitch looked at a cross section of more than 50 hospitals including small independent facilities to larger multi-hospital systems.
“We’re a little surprised by this because it’s tough out there right now in the healthcare environment,” Fitch Ratings senior director Kevin Holloran , one of the report’s authors, said in an interview. “I wouldn’t say this is the calm before the storm but more like the calm before more and more rapid change.”
Fitch rates the hospitals’ tax-exempt bonds and looks at a variety of things including “balance sheet strength,” which the agency says is key to the ratings of most hospitals and “particularly those undergoing financial pressure or transformation.” The measures are critical to the industry given not-for-profit facilities account for the majority of U.S. acute care hospitals.
Not-for-profit hospitals are under particular pressure given the major mergers in the news lately are designed to keep patients out of the hospital for as much care as possible while escalating the move away from fee-for-service medicine to value-based care.
CVS Health’s proposed acquisition of health insurance giant Aetna is expected to lead to an expansion of services in CVS pharmacies and retail clinics as a way to capture patients in lower cost settings and save premium dollars paid by Aetna clients, employers and those covered by Medicare and Medicaid insurance. There have also been reports Walmart wants to buy Humana or at the very least collaborate on ways to bring more patients insured by Humana into Walmarts for outpatient care, prescriptions and other health services.
And the Optum health services unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group is spending billions of dollars on acquisitions of medical care providers like the $4.9 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group that is expected to close soon.
Read Again https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/04/19/for-now-hospitals-hang-on-despite-cvs-optum-and-walmart-threats/Bagikan Berita Ini
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