Hospital diversification and financial management

Abstract

Hospital diversification and its impact on the operating ratio are studied for 62 New York hospitals during the period 1974-1979. Diversification and operating ratio are modeled in a two-stage least squares (TSLS) framework as being jointly dependent. Institutional diversification is found to yield better financial position, and the better operating ratio allows the institution the wherewithal to diversify. The impact of external government planning and hospital competition are also measured. An institution life cycle hypothesis is advanced to explain hospital behavior: boom and bust, diversification and divestiture, occasionally leading to closure or merger. These results should not be generalized beyond the New York State context. Restructuring of the organization, unrelated business ventures, and transactions with related organizations were not a problem in this sample. However, in 1983, many a new corporation is set up whose revenues do not become part of the hospital's and whose complex transactions conceal unallowable costs and maximize reimbursement. A number of hypotheses are advanced concerning hospital administrator's attitude toward risk.