HCAD 645: Strategic Financial Management in Healthcare

HCAD 645 is a 3-credit graduate course at the University of Maryland Global Campus, with HCAD 640 as its listed prerequisite. UMGC describes it as an in-depth study of how to plan the use and management of enterprise financial resources to achieve long-term organizational objectives.

Where HCAD 640 explains how healthcare is paid for, HCAD 645 is about strategy: how an organization invests, finances itself and plans for a volatile environment.

What HCAD 645 Covers

The catalog lists these topics:

• Identifying and quantifying available or potential resources and devising a plan for using finances and other capital.
• Capital budgeting and management.
• Risk analysis and multiple financing methods.
• Supply chain costs, valuation, and mergers and acquisitions.
• Current accounts and working capital management.
• Strategic planning and financial forecasting.
• Macroeconomic principles related to the healthcare system, including free-market and mixed-market economies and barriers to free markets.

Key Concepts Explained

Capital Budgeting

Capital budgeting compares long-term investments, such as new equipment or a building. Common tools are net present value (NPV), which discounts future cash flows to today, payback period and internal rate of return. A positive NPV at the required rate suggests the project adds value.

Working Capital

Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. Managing receivables, supplies and payables well keeps an organization able to pay its bills while it waits for reimbursement.

Forecasting and Risk

Forecasts rest on assumptions about volume, payer mix and costs. Present a base case and at least one alternative, and say which assumptions matter most.

Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them

See your syllabus for the actual assessments.

Linking Finance to Strategy

The course title stresses strategy, so numbers must serve objectives. Open with the organization's goal, then show how the investment or financing choice advances it.

This structure also works for mergers and acquisitions questions.

A Method for Capital Budgeting Problems

Work through capital budgeting questions in a fixed order so errors are easy to find.

1. List the initial outlay and when it occurs.
2. List expected net cash flows by year.
3. State the discount rate and its source.
4. Compute NPV, and payback if requested.
5. Test at least one changed assumption.
6. Write the recommendation and the qualitative factors.

Qualitative factors include community need, mission, quality, staff and strategic fit. A project with a small negative NPV may still be justified by mission, but you must say so openly and explain the trade-off.

Present results in a small table with inputs on the left and outputs on the right. It keeps your assumptions visible and makes your reasoning easier to follow.

Valuation, Mergers and Acquisitions

The catalog lists valuation and mergers and acquisitions. In a written task, set out why the organization is considering a deal, how value might be estimated and what risks remain.

Use the valuation methods taught in your course, and explain the main assumptions behind any value you present.

Where Students Get Stuck

• Wrong discount rate. State the rate and why you chose it.
• Ignoring timing. Cash flows in different years are not equal.
• Forecasts presented as facts. Label assumptions.
• Weak link to strategy. A good NPV is not automatically a good decision.

Study Tips for HCAD 645

• Revisit HCAD 640 payment methods; they drive the revenue assumptions.
• Build a reusable NPV spreadsheet with an inputs section.
• Always test one alternative scenario.
• Write a short recommendation after every table.

How We Help with HCAD 645

Send the case, figures, rubric and feedback. We can explain the method, prepare a custom solution with every step shown, or review your spreadsheet and written analysis for errors and clarity.

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