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An Economic Risk Measurement

By Calvin Weise; MBA, CPA

Hospital capital capacity is all about risk.

A Risk Measurement

Since capital investments have risks associated with them, capital capacity is a measurement of how much risk a hospital can bear. Capital capacity is not simple to determine. Capital investments introduce varying levels of risk, depending on the relative uncertainty of the benefits to be derived.

For example, one million dollars invested in an MRI at a hospital that has a two-month backlog for scheduling MRIs has much lower risk than $1 million invested in a new service like a PET scanner.

Profit Margins

Profit margins affect capital capacity. Larger profit margins create larger capacity for uncertainty which implies more risk and that means more capital capacity. Higher liquidity means more capital capacity. Lower debt leverage means more capital capacity. Liquidity and leverage are balance sheet ratios. Both imply capacity to absorb uncertain outcomes; both affect capital capacity.

Capital Determinations

Determining capital capacity is more art than science because of the variability in risk presented by various capital investments and the subjectivity associated with trying to measure that uncertainty.

That having been said, it is important to build models that estimate capital capacity. Most capital capacity models ignore the variability in risk presented by capital investments. They are typically built from published rating agency financial ratio medians. These models are based on the view that financial ratios of similar rating categories represent equivalent risks.

Of course, this is a simplistic view as it suggests that credit analysts simply categorize risk on the basis of financial ratios. It is not the case as the recent financial meltdown has demonstrated. Even the major credit rating agencies have been implicated as suspect; of late

Assessment

Published medians are the result of credit analysis, not the basis for credit analysis. Importantly, what is not usually published is the range or distribution around these medians. Models that estimate risk need to differentiate among risks presented by capital investments. Capital investments with little risk should consume less capital capacity than capital investments with a lot of risk.

Link: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. How does your practice, medical clinic or hospital measure and report capital risk; does it?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

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Filed under: Accounting, Health Economics, Healthcare Finance, iMBA, Inc., Investing, Practice Management | Tagged: capital capacity, capital investments, capitalization, economics, finance, healthcare, healthcare economics, Healthcare Finance, hospitals, Risk Management | 1 Comment »