IHA Daily Briefing: October 6

IHA Webinar Tomorrow: Strategies for New MA Cost Report Requirements

From required data elements to determining your hospital's reporting scope, there's a lot to consider as you prepare to meet new federal cost reporting requirements for Medicare Advantage (MA) plan rates. A complimentary IHA webinar on Oct. 7, "MA Cost Report Requirements: What Hospitals Need to Know," will guide you through the complex changes mandated in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) final rule last fall.

As part of the rule, hospitals must report median MA payor-specific negotiated charges for cost reporting periods ending on or after Jan. 1, 2026 to maintain compliance. Additionally, reporting must be done on the new S-12 worksheet and be comparable to machine-readable file data. CMS plans to use these data to set Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups weights beginning in fiscal year 2029, replacing cost-based weights.

Alicia Faust, principal with Forvis Mazars' Healthcare Performance Improvement Practice, will lead the webinar. There is no fee to attend. The webinar will be recorded and made available to all registrants following the program. Register today.

Staff contact: Cassie Yarbrough

ICAHN RHTP Funding Applications Due This Friday, Oct. 9

The deadline to apply for twocompetitive funding opportunities through the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) and the Illinois Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is approaching. Eligible rural hospitals have until this Friday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m. CT to complete and submit applications through the Euna Solutions Grants Portal. Available funding opportunities include:

Disease Prevention and Chronic Disease Management

This opportunity provides funding for eligible hospitals to implement evidence-based chronic disease prevention and management programs through the development of classes, curricula, educational materials, and other interventions. Programs may include diabetes prevention; mental health first aid; nutrition and physical activity programs; chronic disease self-management; and tobacco cessation. Click here to apply.

Building a Resilient Workforce

This opportunity supports programs designed to attract and retain healthcare professionals, including physicians, advanced practitioners, and allied health professionals. The program focuses on three areas including recruitment of healthcare professionals or the development and expansion of new healthcare service lines; strategies that strengthen and support the healthcare workforce hospitals already have; and providing individuals with opportunities to advance their education and careers in healthcare. Click here to apply.

Note: If you've used the Euna Grants Portal before, simply log in with your existing username and password. If you're new to Euna, you'll need to create an account first before beginning the application process.

ICAHN noted that viewing the informational slides and a webinar recording before completing an application is strongly encouraged. The webinars provide important information about the funding opportunities, application requirements and submission process. These recordings can be found on the ICAHN RHTP Information & Tools webpage, in addition to other information on the grants, application materials and related links, and budget worksheets. Awardees will be notified the week of Nov. 9, 2026.

The Euna Solutions Grants Portal will also house important information and application resources.

Final Rule Finalized on Insurer Transparency Requirements

Numerous updates to transparency in coverage requirements for insurers were finalized yesterday by the federal Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services. The final rule includes changes to insurer machine-readable files intended to improve data availability, usability and accuracy, including through improved compliance enforcement and increased reporting frequency. The final rule also changes insurers' consumer pricing tool requirements that provide personalized cost estimates. These changes were advanced in response to an executive order issued last year on price transparency and guidance documents.

Telling Your Hospital's Story: IHA Leadership Summit Session

Six in 10 people say it's critical or very important that a hospital's role in the community goes beyond medical care, according to a 2026 national consumer survey conducted by Jarrard. At IHA Leadership Summit Friday, Michael Hildebrand, Jarrard Senior Vice President and Regional Health System Practice Lead, discussed connecting the research to how hospitals tell their story and he shared tactical takeaways to make that easier.

The Jarrard data showed 26% of people are more likely to trust hospitals when the community sees you as a good community partner. In addition, 37% are more likely to defend you, 33% are more likely to advocate for you, and 57% are more likely to contribute money to your hospital.

"When and if you have to make those decisions," Hildebrand said of making cuts, "your community may not like the decision you make but they're going to trust you made the right decision."

Hospital and health system leaders may feel the community is pressing them to do more. Instead, Hildebrand said, research demonstrates it isn't "do more; it's tell your story." Every good story has a hero, he noted, which may be the patients, families and communities you're helping. If the hospital is the hero, it should be from the viewpoint of how you're filling a community need.

Strategies to successfully telling your hospital story include:

• Making sure the story is simple enough to spread.
• Using social media, especially LinkedIn and Facebook, to get it out quickly-"You'll get the most eyes on it and it will be shared," Hildebrand said.
• Developing a news release and building relationships with local reporters.
• Bringing in physicians and nurses as experts; having a grateful patient tell the story-"The patient is key and moves the needle really quickly," he said.
• Bringing in CEOs when you want to connect what you're doing to a bigger purpose.
• Board members, who have many community connections, have a story to tell as well.

"One of the reasons I think healthcare is in the position it is today is because we talk about investments and pay raises in terms of numbers. We look like big businesses," Hildebrand said. "When we talk about big numbers people automatically think we make a lot of money, so we need to move beyond the numbers and talk about the impact because the work we do is really impactful and has an impact beyond that one point of care."

See IHA's Summit recap on our social media channels X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Illinois Respiratory Disease Surveillance Data

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

ICU Medical has issued a customer communication recommending updated use instructions for certain IV tubing sets, saying an investigation into discoloration of the tubing did not identify direct patient risk associated with use of affected products. As a result, ICU Medical is recommending products should continue to be used as intended and per facility protocol.

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