By Alexis Kennedy, CPA, Partner, and David Friedenberg, Director, Governance, Risk and Compliance Services, Weaver   For the first time in more than a decade, federal regulators have proposed substantive changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule. On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would significantly change the way...

By David Lange, Partner, Governance, Risk and Compliance, Weaver  For twenty years, the rising cost of being a public company has pushed many startups to stay private as long as they could. A proposal out of Washington and a shift underway in Texas could rewrite that math. Many life sciences companies that succeed will face a decision about whether or not to go public. In theory it should be an easy call, since the public...

BY Christy Lemak, Executive Vice President, Research & Learning, Scottsdale Institute, and Anwesha Dutta, Managing Director, Deloitte, Maulesh Shukla, Research Lead, Deloitte, Bill Fera, Principal, Deloitte Consulting, Dr. Jay Bhatt, Managing Director, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, and Madhushree Wagh, Senior Research Analyst, Deloitte In a new care delivery transformation index, surveyed health systems scored themselves 2.7 out of 5 on the ability to turn transformation efforts into scaled, AI-enabled operations. Most health system leaders...

 BY J.D. Brewer, Principal, Advisory, C&O Health and Government, and Saurabh Goyal, Principal, Advisory, Health and Government, KPMG LLC AI as the new architecture of payer value Healthcare payers are operating in one of the most difficult financial environments the industry has faced in years. Medical costs continue to climb, regulatory constraints are intensifying, and administrative margins remain under constant pressure. To keep pace, most organizations have followed a familiar playbook: digitizing processes, automating transactions,...

By Jerod Holloway, Weaver Health Care Advisory Services For many health care organizations, risk is no longer something to manage on the margins. It is a driver of success, shaping financial performance, operational stability and strategic direction in real time. Sustained margin pressure, expanding regulatory demands and accelerating digital transformation are introducing new dependencies across the enterprise. At the same time, traditional risk categories are converging. Cyber incidents disrupt revenue cycles and patient care. Workforce...

BY Jerry Bruno, Principal, Bill Fera, Principal, Jeanette Yung, Principal, Michael McCallen, Managing Director, Dr. Jay Bhatt, Managing Director, Maulesh Shukla, Executive Manager, Health Care Sector, Deloitte   Health care leaders are under continued pressure to reduce operational costs, stabilize a strained workforce, and improve access and experience. While artificial intelligence has the potential to be transformative, many organizations report incremental gains, often slowed by organizational and implementation hurdles rather than a lack of use...

BY Corey Palasota, CFA, Weaver Partner, Health Care Valuation Services   Targeted affiliations, ambulatory buildouts and real‑asset transactions, not blockbuster hospital mergers, are reshaping Houston’s health care provider landscape. After a slow first half of 2025 driven by policy uncertainty, tariff‑linked cost pressure, and questions around Medicaid and exchange coverage, deal activity improved in the second half of the year. The pattern was clear: fewer full consolidations and more purpose‑built partnerships designed to expand post-acute...

BY Amy Gonzalez, Managing Director, Strategy & Execution, & Dr. Matthew Weiss, Managing Director, EY-Parthenon, Ernst & Young LLP An improved hospital capacity management strategy can unlock value and boost financial performance.   Many health system leaders remain financially cautious amid cost pressures and regulatory uncertainty. Hospital capacity management can establish an operational backbone, make health care networks more efficient, and improve cash flow and operating margins. It can also help systems differentiate themselves in...

BY Tashiana Briggs, Partner – Tax, Healthcare and Professional Services, Adam Portacci, Director – Financial Advisory Health Care Valuation Services, and Josh Finrock, Director – Transfer Pricing, Weaver It appears the Grinch has stolen some of the jolly from the practice of medicine, with physicians facing a brutal reality: ever increasing clinical volume paired with declining margins. As a result, many practices are looking for ways to reduce cash outlays or show healthy income when...

BY Tina Wheeler, Partner, US Health Care, Bill Laughlin, Principal, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Omosede Ogiamien, Partner, Risk and Financial Advisory, Heather Hagan, Principal, Healthcare, Maulesh Shukla, India Lead, Healthcare, & Madhushree Wagh, Senior Research Analyst, Deloitte A recent Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey of health care finance leaders revealed that 84% are concerned about business conditions stemming from potential regulatory and policy changes, macroeconomic uncertainty, and disruptions related to tariffs and supply chains....