ESG Scores: What We Know and Don’t Know July 28, 2022 ESG scores from rating agencies reflect the risk that ESG issues will affect a hospital’s ability to earn cash flow and repay its debt, but are not “gold stars” for a sophisticated or well-considered ESG strategy. Blog Covenant Challenges Signal Need to Chart a Path to Sustainability June 15, 2022 The possibility of breached covenants is a symptom of deeper problems that require an all-hands-on-deck approach to get back on a sustainable path. Blog Affirmation Is the New Upgrade June 8, 2022 The staggering losses reported by many not-for-profit hospitals in the first quarter of 2022 showed deficits that the industry has rarely seen. Blog Covenant Management in Uncertain Times May 4, 2022 The first quarter of 2022 will undoubtedly be one of the most financially challenging periods for not-for-profit hospitals. Blog Hope Doesn’t Pay Debt Service…or Does It? April 20, 2022 “Hope doesn’t pay debt service” is a message I heard repeatedly from many hospital executives during my years as a ratings analyst. Any astute finance executive or finance committee... Blog The Growing Influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing in Not-for-Profit Healthcare April 13, 2022 Interest in ESG investing has grown at a rapid pace, but disclosure standards are still developing. Health system leaders should carefully consider the pros and cons of ESG disclosure. Blog Reviving Revenue in the Post-Pandemic World March 23, 2022 As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face a changed reality. Expenses—particularly labor expenses—have reset at a higher level. Inflation is rising at rates not seen since the... Blog My Breast Cancer Journey March 9, 2022 SVP, Lisa Goldstein, shares what she learned about hospitals, healthcare, and the not-for-profit mission from her breast cancer journey. Blog Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Can Governance Be Measured? February 23, 2022 Almost everything that not-for-profit hospital ratings analysts evaluate can be measured, quantified, and databased. Except for one: governance. Blog Ratings Matter, But Long-Term Viability Matters More February 9, 2022 “Will I be downgraded if my organization’s margins decline because I am investing for its future?” This is one of the most common questions that provider organizations ask ratings... Blog Why Stories Matter January 26, 2022 Over the years, I have had many things that I have wanted to tell the executives at not-for-profit hospitals. As a ratings analyst, however, I couldn’t. Now I can. This is the first of... Blog
ESG Scores: What We Know and Don’t Know July 28, 2022 ESG scores from rating agencies reflect the risk that ESG issues will affect a hospital’s ability to earn cash flow and repay its debt, but are not “gold stars” for a sophisticated or well-considered ESG strategy. Blog Covenant Challenges Signal Need to Chart a Path to Sustainability June 15, 2022 The possibility of breached covenants is a symptom of deeper problems that require an all-hands-on-deck approach to get back on a sustainable path. Blog Affirmation Is the New Upgrade June 8, 2022 The staggering losses reported by many not-for-profit hospitals in the first quarter of 2022 showed deficits that the industry has rarely seen. Blog Covenant Management in Uncertain Times May 4, 2022 The first quarter of 2022 will undoubtedly be one of the most financially challenging periods for not-for-profit hospitals. Blog Hope Doesn’t Pay Debt Service…or Does It? April 20, 2022 “Hope doesn’t pay debt service” is a message I heard repeatedly from many hospital executives during my years as a ratings analyst. Any astute finance executive or finance committee... Blog The Growing Influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing in Not-for-Profit Healthcare April 13, 2022 Interest in ESG investing has grown at a rapid pace, but disclosure standards are still developing. Health system leaders should carefully consider the pros and cons of ESG disclosure. Blog Reviving Revenue in the Post-Pandemic World March 23, 2022 As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face a changed reality. Expenses—particularly labor expenses—have reset at a higher level. Inflation is rising at rates not seen since the... Blog My Breast Cancer Journey March 9, 2022 SVP, Lisa Goldstein, shares what she learned about hospitals, healthcare, and the not-for-profit mission from her breast cancer journey. Blog Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman Can Governance Be Measured? February 23, 2022 Almost everything that not-for-profit hospital ratings analysts evaluate can be measured, quantified, and databased. Except for one: governance. Blog Ratings Matter, But Long-Term Viability Matters More February 9, 2022 “Will I be downgraded if my organization’s margins decline because I am investing for its future?” This is one of the most common questions that provider organizations ask ratings... Blog Why Stories Matter January 26, 2022 Over the years, I have had many things that I have wanted to tell the executives at not-for-profit hospitals. As a ratings analyst, however, I couldn’t. Now I can. This is the first of... Blog
ESG Scores: What We Know and Don’t Know July 28, 2022 ESG scores from rating agencies reflect the risk that ESG issues will affect a hospital’s ability to earn cash flow and repay its debt, but are not “gold stars” for a sophisticated or well-considered ESG strategy. Blog
Covenant Challenges Signal Need to Chart a Path to Sustainability June 15, 2022 The possibility of breached covenants is a symptom of deeper problems that require an all-hands-on-deck approach to get back on a sustainable path. Blog
Affirmation Is the New Upgrade June 8, 2022 The staggering losses reported by many not-for-profit hospitals in the first quarter of 2022 showed deficits that the industry has rarely seen. Blog
Covenant Management in Uncertain Times May 4, 2022 The first quarter of 2022 will undoubtedly be one of the most financially challenging periods for not-for-profit hospitals. Blog
Hope Doesn’t Pay Debt Service…or Does It? April 20, 2022 “Hope doesn’t pay debt service” is a message I heard repeatedly from many hospital executives during my years as a ratings analyst. Any astute finance executive or finance committee... Blog
The Growing Influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing in Not-for-Profit Healthcare April 13, 2022 Interest in ESG investing has grown at a rapid pace, but disclosure standards are still developing. Health system leaders should carefully consider the pros and cons of ESG disclosure. Blog
Reviving Revenue in the Post-Pandemic World March 23, 2022 As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face a changed reality. Expenses—particularly labor expenses—have reset at a higher level. Inflation is rising at rates not seen since the... Blog
My Breast Cancer Journey March 9, 2022 SVP, Lisa Goldstein, shares what she learned about hospitals, healthcare, and the not-for-profit mission from her breast cancer journey. Blog
Ratings Matter, Revisited March 2, 2022 Kaufman Hall co-founder and Chair Ken Kaufman and Senior Vice President Lisa Goldstein—formerly a longtime not-for-profit hospital ratings analyst for Moody’s—recently explored the evolving perspectives of healthcare leaders on how to best balance credit ratings with other key strategic imperatives, including the rising importance of health equity Thoughts from Ken Kaufman
Can Governance Be Measured? February 23, 2022 Almost everything that not-for-profit hospital ratings analysts evaluate can be measured, quantified, and databased. Except for one: governance. Blog
Ratings Matter, But Long-Term Viability Matters More February 9, 2022 “Will I be downgraded if my organization’s margins decline because I am investing for its future?” This is one of the most common questions that provider organizations ask ratings... Blog
Why Stories Matter January 26, 2022 Over the years, I have had many things that I have wanted to tell the executives at not-for-profit hospitals. As a ratings analyst, however, I couldn’t. Now I can. This is the first of... Blog