INCOME PER BED AS A DETERMINANT OF HOSPITAL’S FINANCIAL LIQUIDITY

Hospitals' financial condition is very important, in terms of availability and quality of inpatient health care services. Inpatient's services consume, in Poland, an important part (about 50%) of National Health Fund resources, but financial situation of hospitals is difficult and many hospitals report problems with liquidity and solvency. The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between the intensity of care, measured by the annual income per bed, and the static liquidity ratios (current ratio and quick ratio). The research has been conducted on the sample of 138 Polish hospitals, using data covering the period 2009-2011. In order to test research hypotheses, statistical tools have been used (T-Student distribution). The study has shown, that, during analyzed period, liquidity ratios have lowered and the level of financial liquidity is, in case of Polish hospitals, lower than recommended in the literature. The authors also confirmed the existence of the relationship between annual income per bed and liquidity ratios. However, the most important finding is that the relationship between the hospital's income per bed and financial liquidity ratios is positive only up to a certain level, which has been estimated at about 60,000-70,000 EUR per bed. Above this level further increase in income per bed decreases liquidity ratios. This finding seems to be extremely important for health care managers, which usually strive for the income maximization.