worker support costs (American Hospital
Association, 2020b). An estimated total financial
impact of four months (March–June 2020) of $202.6
billion in losses for American hospitals and
healthcare systems, or an average of $50.7 billion per
month (American Hospital Association, 2020a).
According to Kaufman Hall, hospitals nationwide
would lose an estimated $54 billion in net profit this
year (KaufmanHall, 2021).
Hospitals in Indonesia are also experiencing a
financial impact as cash flow is disrupted. For
COVID-19 referral hospitals, the soaring number of
patients treated in hospitals has disrupted cash flow
because the down payment for hospital work (10-50
percent) is no longer sufficient for operational costs.
For non-COVID-19 referral hospitals, the pandemic
has caused a decrease in outpatient visits and non-
Covid-19 inpatients. This condition decreased the
occupancy rate so that hospital revenues fell between
30-50% (Hendrartini, 2020). Some routine services
carried out at the hospital were temporarily suspended
to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, the
patient also refrains from going to the hospital for fear
of being infected. The study showed that outpatient
visits decreased by 55.63% during the pandemic,
which caused a decrease in income so that hospitals
had difficulty financing their operations (Giusman &
Nurwahyuni, 2021). Data shown by several hospitals
listed on the Indonesian stock exchange shows a
decrease in net profits in the 2nd quarter of 2020 and
even reached minus, although in the 3rd quarter it
began to increase in a positive direction (Manajemen
Rumah Sakit, 2021).
Based on the type of service, hospitals are divided
into general and special hospitals based on hospital
ownership in Indonesia. They are divided into
government-owned hospitals (Central and Regional)
and private hospitals (Ministry of Health of the
Republic of Indonesia, 2020). Not all private
hospitals in Indonesia serve COVID-19 patients, but
during the pandemic, these hospitals also experienced
a decrease in income. A study at a private hospital
recorded a decrease in the cost recovery rate (CRR)
in 2020 by 13.71% compared to 2019 (Setyorini,
2020). CRR describes the financial performance of a
business through the calculation of the comparison of
total revenue with total production costs. If the
pandemic continues and hospitals cannot increase
their income when operational costs increase, it could
cause hospital services to stop (Hidayah, 2020). The
incident involved the layoff of certain employees by
a private hospital in Bekasi, Indonesia, resulting in a
70% decline in revenue (Nugroho, 2020). Based on
data from Bloomberg quoted by the American
Hospital Association, it was reported that in the US,
more than 36 hospitals experienced bankruptcy
during the pandemic (American Hospital
Association, 2020a) and 11 hospitals were closed due
to financial difficulties experienced during the
pandemic (Ellison, 2021). The involvement of private
sector investment and the amount of money required
to build a hospital highly depend on the financial risks
and returns offered to investors (Bhat and Jain, 2006).
Private hospitals are the type of industry that requires
high investment and a long payback cycle, so their
development requires continuous investment of large
funds (Deloitte, 2017). Hospitals require large
amounts of capital for infrastructure development and
operational financing because they require a large
workforce both in terms of quantity and specifications
(labor intensive) and adequate medical equipment
and other supporting equipment in accordance with
the type of service provided (technology intensive).
However, the role of the private sector is very much
needed to assist the government in providing health
services. Due to its incapacity to fund the
development and upkeep of health services, the
government has adopted a strategy of privatizing the
sector to work with the private sector to promote
health care (Ayuningtyas, 2008).
Financial performance information is an
important factor for investors to find out the results of
their investments. External parties like banks or
creditors also need financial performance data that
can be used to determine if it would be feasible to
grant loans, for instance, by evaluating the hospital's
debt load, cash flow, and profit margin (Zelman et al.,
2003). Financial performance is the most common
criterion for evaluating hospitals and top management
(boards). Studies show a positive relationship
between a dynamic board structure and high financial
performance (Culica & Prezio, 2009). The literature
shows a relationship between the financial
performance of health care providers (financial
performance) and the quality of care they provide
(quality of care). Therefore, a systematic review was
conducted to examine whether there is a relationship
between financial performance and service quality in
hospitals (Barnes et al., 2018; Dubas-Jakóbczyk et
al., 2021). Another study looked at the relationship
between lean management and financial
performance; its results illustrate that lean
management has a direct and positive impact on
patient safety and an indirect impact on financial
performance (Dobrzykowski, McFadden &
Vonderembse, 2016). Numerous research on
hospitals' financial performance demonstrate that
financial success is a crucial metric for gauging the