DESCRIBE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE GOVERNMENTS INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE REGULATION.

Week 1 discussion DQ1 Describe your thoughts on the government’s involvement in health care regulation. Do you think there should be more or less than what exists today? Why DQ2 Describe the type of role you would like to play in health care finance. Would you prefer to be a personnel manager or a financial manager? Why? Week 2 discussion DQ1 What do you consider the biggest challenge as a health care operations manager regarding financial planning and budgeting? How would you address that challenge? DQ2 Describe your preference: managing a fixed expense department or variable expense department. Why? What are the pros and cons of both? Week 3 discussion DQ1 Briefly discuss your reaction to the numerous financial terms and the complexity of reporting required in health care. What would your level of comfort be in a discussion with a CFO regarding the key measurements used by organizations to track financial performance? DQ2 Describe your thoughts on protecting investors and contributors from losing trust in how the organization manages the investment they have made. Do you think the abuse that occurred at Enron could happen in health care? Do you think legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley should apply to health care? Why? Week 4 discussion DQ1 Describe what you think it would be like to be the CEO presenting poor financial results to the board of directors. What would you focus on in your presentation? Why? DQ2 Describe your thoughts about having an outside auditor review your financial management of your department. What would be your reaction if the auditor found that supplies were unaccounted for, and what causes would you consider for this finding? Week 5 discussion DQ1 Describe what you think is the greatest challenge for the health care manager when it comes to managing productivity. What methods would you use to overcome resistance from coworkers? DQ2 How would you communicate to administration that the new supply they have chosen is causing staff to react adversely and claim that the new product is of poor quality? What would be your approach and what reaction would you expect from administration when the new supply reduces costs of operation significantly? Week 6 discussion DQ1 Your coworkers are upset that the current theme in the organization is cost containment and they see that money is being spent on remodeling the emergency department, which is unable to keep up with the demand due to inadequate space. Describe how you would react to your coworkers. What factors are possibly being taken into consideration by administration? Your coworkers think that the money being spent to remodel the emergency department should go to securing raises. How would you explain use of funds? DQ2 How would you react to a physician who wants the organization to purchase a new piece of technology that the competing hospital already has so he can bring his patients to your hospital rather than to the competition? What factors would you consider in evaluating the wisdom of supporting his request? Week 7 discussion DQ1 Choose a news article or a story on health care services from the media and share a brief synopsis and your opinion on the future implications. DQ2 Think about what excites you most about the future of health care, focusing on the opportunities for health care reform. What are possible effects of health care reform from a financial and accounting perspective?