Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Due Diligence in Distressed Community Hospitals

By Deborah Williamson, Mark Andrews and Richard Y. Cheng
December 01, 2018

A “community hospital” is generally located in a smaller town but can also include urban facilities that serve a market segment distinct from a major teaching hospital. A community hospital is generally not-for-profit and historically not affiliated with a larger system. Many community hospitals are in distress. The causes are varied but have a constant theme — the cost to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Potential investors in distressed community hospitals will similarly need to be nimble in their due diligence.

What is the Patient Population?

Initially, customer-based due diligence appears standard. Is the current customer base increasing or decreasing? Can the customer base be expanded? With hospitals, there are additional concerns. Is the population served by the hospital increasing or decreasing in age? Is the market segment growing or shrinking? Is there any future event that would change the demographics?

There are also questions unique to community hospitals. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to treat any patient who stumbles into an emergency room regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. If admitted, a patient can't be transferred unless accepted by another facility or discharged by a physician. An understanding of the percentage of uninsured patients is critical. Less obvious is a determination of the percentage of unpaid claims attributable to under-insured patients who cannot to pay their deductibles.

This premium content is locked for Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability Image

This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.