Joe Burns

Last week's ruling in the case of ProMedica Health System vs. the Federal Trade Commission offers key lessons for CFOs about how hospitals and health systems should proceed with mergers or acquisitions.

As Oregon transforms how it delivers care to 780,000 Medicaid patients, it hopes to generate better outcomes at lower costs. The problem for Oregon hospitals is that these goals conflict with the traditional aim of boosting revenue through ER visits and inpatient stays.

In 2007, BCBS of Massachusetts asked Lowell General Hospital to accept a monthly capitated payment to care for its HMO members. The hospital simultaneously saw the potential and recognized the risks.

Across the U.S., hospital costs are rising while revenue and patient volume are falling. Rural not-for-profit hospitals, in particular, face a challenging financial future, one in which some facilities might close or at least "go hungry."