Required Text

Cleverley, W. O., Song, P. H., & Cleverley, J. O. (2011). Essentials of health care finance (7th ed). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

            REFERENCES NEED TO BE PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS AND BE SCHOLARLY.

Week 1 – Assignment —- Ownership Forms of Health Care Organizations

Review Chapter 1 of your course text and formulate a response to the following topic:

You are an external consultant with 10 years’ experience in your field.  Fifty doctors are trying to get together to form a health care organization, and they come to you for suggestions on developing the ownership form for the organization.  It is your job to advise them on what common ownership forms are available for the organization and provide an example of each. Additionally, you must discuss the following:

• The advantages and disadvantages of each ownership form.
• The ownership form would you would recommend as being most appropriate for this particular organization as well as why it is the most appropriate.

Week 2 – Assignment  — Anti-Trust 

Prior to completing the assignment,  review Chapter 4 of your course text. 

You are a manager with 5 years of experience and need to write a report for senior management on how your firm can avoid the threat of a Federal Trade Commission investigation if you were to merge with other health care organizations. Research on your own to select a health care organization in the United States that has been charged with an antitrust action within the last five years and use this information as the basis for your paper. In your report

• Summarize the charges and rebuttal or mitigation of charges used by the health care organization you researched.
• Discuss lessons learned and propose actions that can be taken by your management to avoid similar anti- trust actions in your proposed merger.

Your paper must include an introduction, thesis, and conclusion. Your paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.  Utilize three scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources (excluding the course text) that were published within the last five years. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and provide complete references for each source used on the reference page. 

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Week 3 – Assignment    — Financial Ratios Analysis and Comparison Paper

Prior to completing this assignment, review Chapter 10 and 12 in your course text.  

You are a mid-level manager in a health care organization and you have been asked to prepare a report, with appropriate exhibits, for the senior financial officer.

• Discuss the roles played by financial ratios in general and analyze the commonly used financial ratios by categories.
• Additionally, select a local hospital and compare its financial ratios for the most recent three years against the national norms for this type of institution. Include analytical comments and how the organization compares to the national norms as well as any suggestions as to how results could be improved.

Your paper must include an introduction, thesis, and conclusion. Your paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.  Utilize three scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources (excluding the course text) that were published within the last five years. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and provide complete references for each source used on the reference page. 

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

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Week 4 – Assignment —  Zero-Based Budgeting

Read the Zero-Based Budgeting PowerPoint presentation. http://www.wrh.on.ca/webbuild/site/wrh-internet-upload/file_collection/WRH%20Medical%20Departments%20Orientation%20Session%20V6.pdf   The Board of Directors of Windsor Memorial Hospital has hired you to be their zero-based budget consultant. Specify how Windsor Memorial Hospital can implement a zero-based budget and provide your recommendations to the Board of Directors of the Hospital. Explain the benefits of implementing your recommendations and justify why you are making these specific recommendations.

Your paper must include an introduction, thesis, and conclusion. Your paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.  Utilize three scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources (excluding the course text) that were published within the last five years. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and provide complete references for each source used on the reference page. 

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WEEK 5 ——– Budgetary Variance Model

Prior to completing this assignment, review Assignment 9 in Chapter 17 of your course text. Prepare an evaluation of the performance of the Radiology Department Manager for a hospital.

The service unit, or output, for this department is the number of procedures performed. A static budget was prepared at the beginning of the year. Examine that budget in relation to actual experience. The relevant data are included in Table 17-18 in your course text. The department manager is pleased because the department has a favorable $120,000 cost variance. Evaluate the effectiveness claims of the manager using the budgetary variance mode described in Chapter 17. What is your analysis of the department manager’s performance? Explain your reasoning.

Your paper must include an introduction, thesis, and conclusion. Your paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.  Utilize three scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources (excluding the course text) that were published within the last five years. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and provide complete references for each source used on the reference page. 
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Week 6 – Final Paper——-Final Paper  –ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET IS A EXCEL DOCUMENT…

Utilizing the concepts learned throughout the course, write a Final Paper on one of the following scenarios:

• Option One: You are a consultant with 10 years experience in the health care insurance industry. A group of 20 doctors is considering forming a new medical group. The group has asked you to prepare a report on whether it should build a facility within 30 miles of the downtown center of a city with a population of 500,000 for $100 million dollars. Prepare a report for the management team of the doctor’s group on your proposed $100 million expenditure plan. In your report, reflect on the key course objectives as well as the financial, legal, and alternative health care models. In addition, reinforce your knowledge of strategic planning and capital budgeting by using an electronic spreadsheet to display the financials.
• Option Two: You are a chief operating officer. The board of directors of your organization has requested that you prepare a summary of the issues involved with a 50 million dollar expansion. Due to local politics and uncertain national medical care policies, national officials may have to scale the expansion back to 25 million or risk not being elected. Prepare a presentation for the management team of the doctor’s group on your proposed 25 to 50 million dollar expenditure plan using Powerpoint. In your presentation, reflect on the key course objectives as well as the financial, legal, and alternative health care models. In addition, reinforce your knowledge of strategic planning and capital budgeting by using an electronic spreadsheet to display the financials.
• Option Three: You are a chief operating officer at a for-profit insurance company. A board of directors has requested that you prepare a summary of the issues involved with a potential 40% reduction in U. S. medical insurance reimbursement. Prepare a report for the board of directors on how to address the proposed funding cuts while remaining sensitive to the needs and health of the community and your patients. In your report, reflect on the key course objectives as well as the financial, legal, and alternative health care models. In addition, reinforce your knowledge of strategic planning and capital budgeting. by using an electronic spreadsheet to display the financials.
• Option Four: You are a chief administrative officer for a large nonprofit health relief organization. A board of directors has requested that you prepare a summary of the issues and how to solve the health needs of an African country. Your organization has limited funding and will need to obtain subsidized medicine from major pharmaceutical companies. Your organization also has the opportunity to get non-generic, non-USDA approved, alternative stem cell derived medication from foreign sources. Prepare a report for the board of directors on how to address the proposed funding limitations while remaining sensitive to the needs and health of the African nation. Consider the various economic, political, moral, and health impacts for the United States citizens who may have some of the health medication diverted to the African nation. In your report, reflect on the key course objectives as well as the financial, legal, and alternative health care models. In addition, reinforce your knowledge of strategic planning and capital budgeting by using an electronic spreadsheet to display the financials.
• Option Five: You are a public official elected at the local city level who serves a population of 50,000 to 250,000 people. A budget of 10 million dollars has been allocated to you by the city manager, and you can get up to 100% of this amount in matching federal funds if you meet the federal standards. You have been asked by the mayor to determine how to allocate the budget to best support the needs of the city. These could include, but not be limited to, supporting capital requirements, operational requirements, and subsidizing nonprofit organizations or using economic incentives to bring new private concerns into the city. Prepare a report for the mayor and city council on your proposed expenditure plan. In your report, reflect on the key course objectives as well as the financial, legal, and alternative health care models. In addition, reinforce your knowledge of strategic planning and capital budgeting by using an electronic spreadsheet to display the financials.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

1. Must be 8 to 10 double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must have a title page that includes the following:

• Title of paper
• Student’s name
• Course name and number 
• Instructor’s name
• Date submitted

Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must end with a restatement of the thesis and a concluding paragraph. Must use eight scholarly and /or peer-reviewed sources, including five from the Ashford University Library. Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center