title: Financial characteristics of hospitals purchased by investor-owned chains.
abstract: This article focuses on the preacquisition financial condition of not-for-profit hospitals acquired by investor-owned hospital chains. Financial ratios are used to determine if not-for-profit hospitals acquired by investor-owned hospital systems have common financial characteristics which make them a likely target for a takeover. The results indicate that during the time period studied, investor-owned hospital systems did tend to purchase hospitals with common financial characteristics and that these characteristics provide a reasonable description of a financially distressed hospital. This finding has important consequences for our health care delivery system.
mesh_terms: D004469:Economics, Hospital; D005375:Financial Audit; D005376:Financial Management; D005377:Financial Management, Hospital; D006273:Health Facility Merger; D006761:Hospitals; D006777:Hospitals, Proprietary; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States