Strategies for navigating the healthcare credit market
Wareham, T.L.
Healthcare Financial Management Journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association 55(4): 54-56
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 0735-0732 PMID: 11300003 Document Number: 537101
Not-for-profit healthcare organizations are experiencing a tightened credit market due to financial stresses on the healthcare industry such as declining payments, effects of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the shift to outpatient care. In the future, healthcare organizations wanting to access the capital market will be expected to preserve cash as an "insurance policy," offer greater security and stricter covenants, and report financial information on a quarterly basis. To meet these requirements and navigate today's tighter credit market, healthcare financial managers will need to focus on the organization's most reliably profitable areas of business, link strategic and financial issues, and carefully monitor the balance sheet.