HITshow Daily: December 17, 2025 (Wednesday)
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Today on HITshow:
Three big forces collide: AI is moving from pilot to production in revenue cycle operations, New York puts more than $300M into hospital health IT and cybersecurity, and payers are tightening reimbursement rules. Plus: Northwell Direct lands a major contract covering 170,000 participants, UnitedHealthcare narrows RPM coverage starting January 1, and a Bright Spot on how Tendo is making bundled care shoppable.
HOST: RHONDA BROOKS
📍 Finance & Capital — Teresa Vaughn
A new survey shows 8 in 10 health systems are now exploring, piloting, or implementing generative AI tools for revenue cycle management, with leaders targeting faster throughput, fewer denials, less manual work, and relief on staffing pressure. The fastest CFO wins are in denials and under-coding—anything that turns into dollars quickly with a clean audit trail.
📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy — Anika Shah
New York is awarding more than $300M to 22 hospital projects through the state’s facility transformation programs, focusing on expanding electronic medical records, strengthening cybersecurity and patient data security, and expanding telehealth services. Cyber readiness and IT modernization are being treated like essential infrastructure alongside bricks and mortar.
📍 Finance & Capital — Logan Stokes
Northwell Direct and the 32BJ Health Fund announced a direct healthcare agreement covering about 170,000 participants, cutting out a layer of third-party administration. The fund estimates meaningful first-year savings, signaling that large purchasers want more predictable pricing and control over where care is delivered.
📍 Digital Health — Jalen Cross
UnitedHealthcare has a new RPM medical policy effective January 1, 2026, making coverage more restrictive. For health systems and provider groups running RPM at scale, this is a “check your cohorts” moment to map current patients against new criteria and build transition plans for anyone who no longer qualifies.
📍 Quick Roundup — Nate Collier
Humana is lining up a leadership transition in its insurance business, bringing in a former Amazon healthcare executive. Banner Health is transitioning facilities to a cashless payment model with completion targeted by March 2026. Bayhealth has a proposed $2.5M settlement fund tied to a patient data breach pending court approval. Evernorth’s Behavioral Care Group is highlighting expansion and access improvements with more growth planned into 2026.
📍 Digital Health — Jade Romero (Bright Spot)
Tendo is combining performance insight for providers with a marketplace that lets employers and care navigators shop bundled episodes with upfront pricing and quality signals. Co-CEO Kevin Riley says the platform saves consumers an average of $740 per service with a 92% five-star rating, signaling employers want predictable prices and providers want channels that reward quality.
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