Health service finance class

YOU MAY WANT TO PRINT THIS GUIDE.

1. The Final Exam is "open book, open notes." The maximum time you can spend in the exam is three hours, 30 minutes. If you have not clicked the Submit for Grade button by then, you will be automatically exited from the exam. In the Final Exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, and so you still will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications.

2. You should click the Save Answers button in the exam frequently. This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet Service Providers, and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your internet connection does break, when you reconnect you will normally be able to get back into your Final Exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to re-login as quickly as possible. The Help Desk cannot grant any student additional time on the exam.

3. Final exams are closed Thursday of Week 8.

4. Reminders:

· You will only be able to enter your online Final Exam one time.

· Click the "Save Answers" button often.

· If you lose your Internet connection during your Final Exam, logon again and try to access your Final Exam. If you are unable to enter the Final Exam, contact first the help desk and then your instructor.

· You will always be able to see the time remaining in the Final Exam at the top right of the page.

5. Assessments with Multiple Pages:

· Make sure you click the "Save Answers" button before advancing to the next page (we also suggest clicking on save answers while you are working.)

· Complete all of the pages before submitting your Final Exam for instructor review.

· Do NOT use your browser's 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons during the Final Exam.

· Please use the provided links for navigation.

6. Submitting Your Final Exam:

· When you are finished with the Final Exam, click on the "Submit for Grade" button.

· Please note: Once you click the "Submit for Grade" button, you will NOT be able to edit or change any of your answers.

7. Exam Questions

· There are 4 randomly selected Essay questions each worth 30 points each for a total of 120 points.

· There are 8 randomly selected Short Answer questions each worth 10 points for a total of 80 points.

· The Final Exam covers all course TCOs, Weeks 1-7 and Chapter readings.

· The Final Exam contains 3 pages, which can be completed in any order.

· This means that not everyone will have the same questions. Even if you do have some of the same questions, they may not be in the same order. These questions are distributed amongst the TCOs. The entire exam is worth 200 points.

· On the essay questions your answers should be succinct, fully address each part of the question, and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete answer. Essay questions require answers that are a couple of paragraphs (not a couple of sentences) that directly speak to each part of the question. Some students opt to work on the essay questions first, due to their higher point value and length of time needed to adequately address each question. However, this is entirely your choice.

· Remember always use proper citation when quoting other sources! This means that ANY borrowed material (even a short phrase) is being placed in quotation marks with the source (URL, author/date/page #) immediately following the end of the passage. Changing a few words in a passage does NOT constitute putting it in your own words and proper citation is still required.  Borrowed material should NOT dominate a student’s work, but should only be used sparingly to support your own thoughts, ideas, and examples. Heavy usage of borrowed material (even if properly cited) can jeopardize the points for that question. Un-cited material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam. As a part of our commitment to academic integrity, your work may be submitted to turnitin.com, an online plagiarism checking service. So please be VERY mindful of proper citation. 

8. Some of the key study areas are as follows: (while these are key areas remember that the exam is comprehensive for all the assigned course content and this study guide may not be all-inclusive.)

TCO 1

1. Financial information

1. Revenue cycle

1. Financial viability

1. Laws and regulations

1. Methods of payment

1. Factors influencing pricing

1. False Claims Act

1. HIPAA

1. Stark II laws

1. EMTALA

1. Compliance programs

1. Corporate compliance plan

1. Compliance and the legal environment

1. Medicare benefits

1. Health plan contract

TCO 2

1. Core principles of accounting

1. Financial statements: balance sheet, statement of operations, statement of changes, statement of cash flow

1. Financial statement analysis

1. Alternative units of measurement

1. Financial reporting alternatives

1. Hospital cost index measure

1. Accrual and cash basis methods

1. Monetary and nonmonetary accounts

1. Balance scorecard and dashboard reporting

1. Benchmarking

1. Financial ratios

1. Asset valuation

1. Critical drivers

TCO 3

· Evaluating cost behavior

· Cost measurement

· Break-even analysis

· Various cost estimation methods

· Controllable and uncontrollable costs

· Direct and indirect costs

· Costs and alternative projects

· Classify costs

· Categories of costs

· Cost allocation

· Phases of costing process

· Relative value units

· Fixed and variable costs

TCO 4

1. Budgeting evaluation and variance analysis techniques

1. Fixed or static budgets

1. Flexible budgets

1. Zero-based budgets

1. Alternative HMO organizational arrangements

1. Concept of management control

1. Benchmarking

1. Price, efficiency and volume variances

1. Cost variances

1. Non-hospital and non-physician sectors

1. Sources of revenue and expenses

1. Organizational types of physician groups

1. Revenue for the nursing-home industry

1. Major theories used for the detection of out of control costs

1. Cost control

TCO 5

1. Capital budgeting

1. Capital acquisitions

1. Time value of money

1. Payback

1. NPV and IRR

1. Future value

1. Present value and future value

1. Cash flow discounting

1. Concepts of compounding and discounting

1. Capital budget decision-making process

1. Capital financing methods

1. Ordinary annuity and an annuity due

1. Stages of the capital decision-making process

1. Debt and equity financing

1. Alternative sources of financing

1. Bonds

1. Leasing

1. Short term borrowing and long term financing

1. Equity financing for not-for-profit healthcare organizations

1. Discounted cash flow methods

TCO 6

1. Cash management

1. Working capital

1. Short-term financial management

1. Cash flow forecasting

1. The cash budget

1. Trade discount

1. Accounts payable management

1. Idle cash

1. Float

1. Cash balances

1. Managing receivables

1. External resources

1. Short-term financing needs

TCO 7

· Strategic planning

· Mergers and acquisitions

· Business valuations

· Various types and roles of HMOs

· Managed care organizations

· Healthcare delivery systems

· Development of integrated delivery systems

· Management control

· Field of consolidations

· Methods for valuation of a potential target firm

· Value potential acquisitions

· HMO, MCO and Health Plans

· Financial planning

· Financial policy targets

· 10 requirements for effective financial planning and policy-making

9. Areas that were discussed in the threads will be prime targets.

10. Assignments will also be prime targets for revisiting.

11. Reviewing the TCO’s will also be a great preparation for the final exam, which I have listed below for your convenience.

Finally, if you have any questions for me, please post them to our Q & A, or e-mail me. Good luck on the exam!