Sure, the rating agencies missed the meltdown of real estate and financial services. But hospital and health system ratings are solid, right?
Maybe not, says Dan Beckham, writing in H&HN Magazine. Beckham's "Bond Rating Delusion" should give you some pause, whether you're issuing or investing.
I've been through several so-called "due diligence" processes for ratings reviews and mergers (the latter twice as the acquirer, once as the acquired.) In that admittedly limited experience, I've found the process stunningly haphazard and superficial.
I remember our acquirer demanding a full audit of our managed care contracts, an activity I took seriously since, at the time, I was the system's executive in charge of managed care contracting. We spent days preparing, gathering information on contract terms and performance, making sure it was all organized just so.
The appointed hour came. A junior attorney showed up in my office, paged desultorily part way through ONE of six bulging notebooks, received a phone call, left for another meeting...and NEVER returned. So much for due diligence.
Maybe not, says Dan Beckham, writing in H&HN Magazine. Beckham's "Bond Rating Delusion" should give you some pause, whether you're issuing or investing.
I've been through several so-called "due diligence" processes for ratings reviews and mergers (the latter twice as the acquirer, once as the acquired.) In that admittedly limited experience, I've found the process stunningly haphazard and superficial.
I remember our acquirer demanding a full audit of our managed care contracts, an activity I took seriously since, at the time, I was the system's executive in charge of managed care contracting. We spent days preparing, gathering information on contract terms and performance, making sure it was all organized just so.
The appointed hour came. A junior attorney showed up in my office, paged desultorily part way through ONE of six bulging notebooks, received a phone call, left for another meeting...and NEVER returned. So much for due diligence.
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