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Credit ratings downgrades continue to hit some hospitals and health systems despite their efforts to stabilize finances in a challenging economy. In the first half of 2024, more than 30 hospitals and health systems were downgraded by at least one of the three largest credit rating agencies — Fitch Ratings, Moody's Ratings and S&P Global. The agencies noted challenges such as inflated expenses, including high labor costs, and reimbursement rate negotiations as factors leading to financial stress. (Hudson and Broderick, 7/8)

"Do you have access to a firearm inside or outside of your house?" asked Louise McEvoy, a pediatric emergency department nurse at the hospital, which is part of New Hyde Park, New York-based Northwell Health​​​​​​. Everyone who visits Cohen's emergency department gets that question. It's standard protocol and an outgrowth of one of the first gun research grants the National Institutes of Health awarded in 2020, the year after Congress ended an effective ban it placed federally funded gun violence research in 1996 because of concerns it aided gun control. (McAuliff, 7/8)

The cyberattack on software firm CDK Global that forced U.S. car dealerships to break out pen and paper to do business is putting a spotlight on other sectors critically reliant on just a handful of vendors. Airlines, banks and healthcare providers all use a handful of niche software providers—many of which have been dominant for decades—for key functions such as booking flights, processing payments and managing patient data. (Lin, 6/29)

A pair of federal government officials resigned from board positions at the Coalition for Health AI, an industry group aiming to create artificial intelligence standards for healthcare. Dr. Brian Anderson, CEO of CHAI, said in a LinkedIn post on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration's Troy Tazbaz and the Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's Micky Tripathi have resigned as board members of the coalition. (Turner, 7/8)

More than half of people surveyed would feel just as safe getting hospital-level care at home as they would in a facility, according to the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. Healthcare systems across the country are placing big bets on hospital-at-home programs, pushing access to more rural communities and lobbying state Medicaid programs to reimburse for the service. (Eastabrook, 7/8)

Healthcare provider Ardent Health is targeting a valuation of about $3.15 billion in its initial public offering, it said on Monday, as the U.S. capital market continues to run hot by attracting new entrants. (7/8)