Strata’s 2026 Healthcare Financial Outlook Report features results from our annual survey of healthcare finance leaders nationwide, examining the risks, priorities, and opportunities shaping the year ahead.
Two-thirds of healthcare finance leaders identified government funding and Medicaid cuts as their No. 1 concern in 2026, followed by labor expenses and payor rates and negotiations. In terms of how they would tackle such challenges, respondents cited reducing costs, managing strategic and performance improvement initiatives, and measuring and managing productivity as their top priorities.
The findings point to a fundamental shift from recovery to disciplined performance management. As organizations invest in analytics, benchmarking, and better use of existing tools, success will depend on their ability to translate insight into action and sustain performance through disciplined alignment across teams and systems.