News Briefs
Over 75% of Health Organizations Targeted by Ransomware Over Year
More than three-quarters of healthcare survey respondents said their organizations were targeted by ransomware in the past 12 months, and 53 percent of those attacks were successful, highlighting the ongoing challenge of combatting healthcare cyberattacks. Within healthcare specifically, 40 percent of respondents experienced one ransomware attack, while 42 percent experienced two attacks.
(Source: Tech Target, 2025-08-05)
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2nd Quarter Healthcare Bankruptcies Decline to Three-Year Low
Only seven healthcare bankruptcies were recorded in the second quarter, the lowest quarterly total since the first three months of 2022. Bankruptcies for providers came to a halt in the second quarter, but analysts predict increased levels of activity next year.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-08-11)
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Urban Hospitals Benefitting From Rural Facility Classification
A growing number of urban hospitals are benefitting from a nearly decade-old rule change that allows them to dually qualify as rural facilities, boosting their Medicare reimbursement, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. The number of hospitals with rural classifications for administrative purposes rose from just three in 2017 to 425 in 2023, driven by providers in urban communities that classify in both groups, researchers found.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2025-08-06)
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Study Finds Many Rural ERs Don't Have Doctors on Staff
Emergency medicine researchers and providers believe ERs, especially in rural areas, increasingly operate with few or no physicians amid a nationwide shortage of doctors. A recent study found that in 2022, at least 7.4 percent of emergency departments across the U.S. did not have an attending physician on-site 24/7.
(Source: Virginia Mercury, 2025-08-07)
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Millions of Americans Can't Access Telehealth Due to 'Dead Zones'
As the federal government reworks rules for a $42 billion broadband expansion program, millions of Americans live in places where there aren't enough healthcare providers and internet speeds aren't good enough for telehealth. A KFF Health News analysis found people in these "dead zones" live sicker and die younger on average than their peers in well-connected regions.
(Source: KFF Health News, 2025-08-07)
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Judges Uphold Drug Price Negotiation Program Decision
An appeals court has ruled against a legal challenge to the Drug Price Negotiation Program. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sided with the Department of Health and Human Services in a case appealed from the Southern District of Ohio.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2025-08-07)
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Trump, Drugmakers Mull Raising Prices Overseas to Cut U.S. Costs
The Trump administration has been talking to drugmakers about ways to raise prices of medicines in Europe and elsewhere in order to cut drug costs in the United States, according to a White House official and three pharmaceutical industry sources. U.S. officials told drug companies they would support their international negotiations with governments if they adopt "most favored nation" pricing under which U.S. drug costs match the lower rates offered to other wealthy countries, the White House official said.
(Source: Reuters, 2025-08-07)
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Nursing Homes Seeing Decline in Turnover in 2025, Report Finds
According to the 2025–2026 Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, turnover rates in U.S. nursing homes declined overall in 2025, while salaries for clinical roles and leaders saw a slight increase. Top Level executives saw the most notable improvement, with turnover falling to 22.12 percent in 2025 from 31.97 percent in 2024.
(Source: Skilled Nursing News, 2025-08-06)
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For-Profit Hospitals Reported Lower-Than-Expected Volumes
Major for-profit hospital chains reported lower-than-expected volumes in second quarter earnings results, causing some to cut back on volume and earnings expectations for the year. Executives at the for-profit hospital chains -- HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems, and Universal Health Services -- attributed the volumes to different factors, from lower Medicaid admissions to a decline in consumer confidence, which impacted spending on healthcare services.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2025-08-11)
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Report Finds Physician Pay Up 3.7 Percent, But Concerns Abound
Physician pay increased 3.7 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to Doximity's 2025 Physician Compensation Report. While any increase might appear encouraging, the report paints a more sobering picture -- modest gains amid inflation, a widening gender pay gap, mounting concerns about Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and growing financial strains among pediatricians.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2025-08-05)
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Policy Uncertainty Biggest Threat to Nonprofit Hospital Finances
The greatest threat to nonprofit hospitals' operations and cash flow isn't cost pressures, but policy uncertainty and "significant structural changes to federal healthcare spending" under recently passed legislation, Fitch Ratings warned in a new report. The agency's latest report, compiling the audited fiscal year 2024 data of its rated nonprofit hospitals and health systems, generally brought good news on the sector's financial health.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-08-06)
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