“Planning in uncertain times” is a recurring topic in our conversations with healthcare finance leaders, usually in reference to challenges such as value-based payments, consumerism, forecasting, and so on, but the COVID-19 outbreak has put that into an entirely new context. As the situation continues to change and evolve, there’s an ever-increasing demand on analytics to minimize uncertainty, inform the business of healthcare, and support caregivers on the front lines.

Post-allocation management ensures continued alignment of financial performance with strategic planning cash-flow requirements.

How much capital to spend and the initiatives in which to invest are among the most critical decisions made by hospitals or health systems, often through organizations’ capital management executive groups, as supported by their senior management teams and boards. Actions taken after those decisions are made, however, are equally significant in determining organizations’ long-term financial successes.

Most healthcare providers use traditional annual budgeting processes, but the significant impacts of COVID-19 have made current budgets virtually unusable and introduced tremendous uncertainty into future assumptions.

Amid so much uncertainty, healthcare finance professionals are asking why, how, and when to budget.

The 2021 budget planning process is unlike any other, requiring adjustments to align established financial planning targets down to an operational level and setting new performance improvement expectations.