Hospital adoption of AI in revenue cycle management is accelerating rapidly, but technology is not the limiting factor. Operational readiness is. New survey data shows AI is gaining traction in documentation, coding, and mid-cycle workflows, yet cost pressure, staffing constraints, and integration complexity are slowing progress. This post explains why operations, not AI skepticism, are now the real bottleneck.

New analysis from Premier estimates that Public Law 119-21 will reduce U.S. hospital revenue by $68.6 billion across 2026 and 2027, driven by coverage losses and rising uncompensated care. This is not a short-term adjustment but a structural shift in payer mix and margin protection. This post breaks down where the losses concentrate and what CFOs should do now to mitigate risk.

New Gallup data shows Americans now view healthcare cost as the country’s most urgent health problem, with trust in the system at a historic low. This post explains why the crisis isn’t about medicine, but about the financial experience, and why I wrote Hospital Bill Survival Guide and Humanizing Revenue Cycle Management to address the trust gap that billing systems continue to create.

CMS’s proposal of 24 new quality and efficiency measures is not a routine update. It is a quiet signal of the future operating model for hospitals. Digital data submission, real-time coordination, and measurable patient engagement are no longer optional. This analysis explains why these measures matter to revenue cycle leaders and how they reinforce the shift toward a fully integrated, digital-first financial ecosystem.

Oracle’s Q2 FY26 earnings call was framed as a cloud and AI infrastructure story, not a healthcare one. But buried inside it were signals hospital and revenue cycle leaders should not ignore.

This is not about Oracle stock or AI hype. It is about what large platform companies are trying to become. By 2030, the winners in healthcare technology will not be the loudest AI brands. They will be the ones that embed AI into workflow, unify data across systems, and reduce the cost of running the business.

Oracle made it clear it is chasing that future. Healthcare should pay attention.

A Fierce Healthcare article shows how payers are treating AI, interoperability, and vendor governance as core infrastructure rather than experimentation. This analysis explains what that shift means for hospitals and why it validates key predictions outlined in RCM 2030 about consolidation, transparency, and AI maturity.

Fitch’s 2026 outlook confirms that nonprofit hospital margins are stabilizing, but at a permanently lower level. Structural pressures tied to payer mix, labor, and Public Law 119-21 are reshaping what financial sustainability looks like. This analysis explains why hospitals must stop planning for a return to “normal” and start designing a new operating reality for 2026 and beyond.

Congress has extended Medicare’s Hospital at Home waivers through 2030, signaling that acute inpatient care is no longer tied to a building. For revenue cycle leaders, this shift has major implications for billing accuracy, automation, quality reporting, and financial operations that must now function beyond hospital walls. This analysis breaks down what Hospital at Home means for RCM readiness through 2030.

The Cerner breach is not just a cybersecurity failure. It is a revenue cycle warning. Legacy systems, delayed disclosure, and vendor dependency expose hospitals to cash flow disruption, billing disputes, and operational paralysis. This analysis explains why cybersecurity must be embedded into revenue cycle planning as a core continuity strategy heading toward 2030.

MedPAC’s 2027 draft recommendations may look routine on the surface, but they send a clear signal to revenue cycle leaders planning for 2030. With Medicare margins still deeply negative and safety-net funding becoming more targeted, hospitals will not be able to rely on broad payment increases. This analysis explains what the update means for cost discipline, automation, safety-net exposure, and long-term RCM readiness.

Hospital CFO turnover is accelerating, and the risk is no longer theoretical. As the CFO role expands to include revenue cycle oversight, cybersecurity, automation, and policy risk, leadership gaps now threaten margin stability. This analysis breaks down why CFO succession planning has become a financial imperative and what boards and CEOs must do now to protect continuity through 2030.

CMS’s new ACCESS Model is not just a chronic-care pilot. It signals a structural shift toward outcome-based, digitally managed reimbursement. For revenue cycle leaders, ACCESS previews how recurring payments, documentation standards, and data quality expectations will reshape chronic-care economics by 2030.

The proposed 2026 340B rebate model would replace upfront drug discounts with delayed reimbursement, shifting liquidity and compliance risk directly onto hospitals. For CFOs, this is not just a policy dispute but a fundamental change in cash flow, margin protection, and enterprise risk management—especially for safety-net providers.