Tower Health CEO Details Turnaround Strategy After Years of Losses
Becker's Hospital Review profiles Tower Health CEO Michael Stern, who describes the three-pronged approach that returned the Pennsylvania system to positive operating income after years of losses: rebuilding culture and trust alongside financial discipline, unifying separate hospitals into one integrated system, and restructuring leadership by eliminating the COO role to push decision-making to hospital presidents. Stern also warns that reimbursement growth of roughly 1% to 1.5% annually, including Medicaid, is badly outpaced by cost increases of 5% to 15%, while rising commercial insurer denials and downgrades are consuming significant leadership time. The interview covers Tower's shift from turnaround to growth and the structural financial pressures facing health systems broadly.