With rising healthcare costs, we hear so often about rate pressures on hospitals and the risk these pressures pose for their future. With healthcare reform, the burden of rising healthcare costs is shifting from payers to providers. Hospitals need to move toward value-based reimbursement models or they will face a -15.8 operating margin by 2021.Over the last 15 years premiums and employee contributions for an average family with health insurance sponsored by an employer have risen 167%. Along with these facts, government payers are reimbursing at lower levels becoming a negative margin for hospitals. These changes are not necessarily easy and can seem overwhelming. The question is whether your hospital will be a pioneer on the trail or will delay until it’s too late. The best way to get started is to understand exactly where you are today—your current cost structure and how each area of your organization is performing in terms of quality and cost, using an EDW.