News
Feds award first chunk of $50 billion rural hospital fund
2+ hour, 11+ min ago (490+ words) The Trump administration this week awarded all 50 states a slice of a newly created $50 billion rural hospital fund to help cash-strapped healthcare systems manage looming federal funding cuts. A total of $10 billion will be available each year from 2026 through 2030. Texas…...
Fitch downgrades Nebraska hospital deeper into junk
2+ day, 23+ min ago (802+ words) Fitch Ratings downgraded Nebraska's Regional West Health Services by two notches deeper into speculative grade, lowering its long-term issuer default rating to CCC from B-minus." The downgrade affects the healthcare network's Series 2016A bonds, issued through Hospital Authority No. 1 of Scotts…...
NASBO: States face more challenging budget conditions ahead
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (661+ words) States face slowing revenue growth and increasing spending pressures, the National Association of State Budget Officers said in its fall Fiscal Survey of States. The report found general fund spending growth was nearly flat in enacted fiscal 2026 budgets, due to…...
States jostle for piece of $50 billion rural hospital fund amid Medicaid uncertainty
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (521+ words) All 50 states have submitted their proposals for a slice of a $50 billion rural health fund created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to blunt the impact of OBBBA's looming Medicaid cuts. Under the new law, federal Medicaid…...
Alabama hospital's bankruptcy reaches do-or-die stage
2+ mon, 3+ day ago (1028+ words) The judge's patience is running thin in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Jackson Hospital and Clinic in Alabama, which includes $61 million of municipal bond debt." "This was a close call for me," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Hawkins said Tuesday after he agreed…...
Coming up for state budget negotiations: plugging major federal funding cuts
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (586+ words) State lawmakers heading into budget negotiations next year will start tackling the looming federal funding cuts enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The options are few and well-known: raise revenue, cut spending or some combination of…...
Applications open for $50 billion rural hospital fund
3+ mon, 6+ day ago (759+ words) States have until Nov. 5 to apply for a slice of $50 billion of new federal funds aimed at shoring up rural hospitals facing headwinds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republicans established the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program as part…...
Tax-exempt hospitals face scrutiny from House Republicans
3+ mon, 2+ week ago (647+ words) "The generous benefits bestowed on tax-exempt hospitals come with obligation to provide charitable benefits to their communities," said Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., during an oversight subcommittee hearing titled "Virtue Signaling vs. Vital Services: Where Tax-Exempt…...
Fiscal woes bring rating downgrade for Oregon hospital chain
4+ mon, 4+ day ago (642+ words) Legacy Health, an eight-hospital Portland, Oregon-based healthcare system was downgraded to A2 from A1 by Moody's Ratings, which cited persistently weak operating performance. Legacy has roughly $700 million of direct debt outstanding. Moody's also maintained a negative outlook on the healthcare system, one…...
Federal tax cuts push Oregon into projected budget deficit
4+ mon, 4+ day ago (1105+ words) As Oregon lawmakers head into a special session Friday in an effort to prevent drastic cuts to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the state received bad news from its economists. The revenue drop comes from an estimated loss of $888 million…...