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....

BY Katharine Johnston, Director, Audit – Public Sector & Katey Kelly, Manager, Audit – Public Sector, Weaver   In the evolving health care landscape, patient financing solutions continue to play a crucial role in enhancing access to essential medical services. Modern patient financing approaches have transformed the health care industry through technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. From addressing financial barriers to improving patient experience, these developments are changing both the industry...

BY Nick Hut, Senior Reporter, HFMA   Hospital advocates are pushing back on a fast-approaching rebate model for the 340B Drug Pricing Program, while a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report illustrates the accelerating spending in the program.   The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which administers 340B, previously announced that a pilot program to test the application of a rebate model would begin Jan. 1, 2026. Comments on the model, which initially is set to...

BY Trip Hillman, Partner, Cybersecurity Consulting Services, and Shelby Mathers, Director, Cybersecurity Consulting Services, Weaver   The health care industry is no stranger to cyberattacks. From ransomware shutting down emergency rooms to data breaches exposing millions of patient records, health care organizations have long been prime targets for cybercriminals. As the threat landscape evolves, so too must health care industry leaders think about cybersecurity, not just as a technical issue but also as a strategic...

BY Adam Portacci, Weaver Compensation arrangements for pathology services provided to hospital patients are uniquely driven by a complex interplay of compliance requirements and market conditions. Determining the fair market value (FMV) for these arrangements requires specialized analyses in the regulatory context. In general, to meet certain exceptions under the physician self-referral laws (commonly referred to as Stark) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and certain safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute...

BY Darron J. Gill, Partner, Healthcare Advisory, & Britni Barsness, Director, Financial Due Diligence, KPMG The question at the forefront of dealmakers’ minds: How will the macroeconomic environment, public policy, and innovation impact the healthcare and life sciences market in 2025? To understand what might happen in 2025, let’s first revisit how the HCLS deal market performed in 2024. KPMG’s annual investment outlook for Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) (the Outlook), published each year in...

BY Hunter Sundbeck, Manager, Consulting Services, Weaver   Perspectives on the most critical aspects of the health care supply chain vary significantly depending on one’s role within the health care ecosystem. A hospital nurse may prioritize the secure transportation of medicinal products, while a hospital administrator might consider daily operational equipment more vital. Meanwhile, a regional clinic may continue using a seven-year-old blood pressure monitor, inadvertently introducing cyber vulnerabilities that could render the device inoperable...