Carolinas Healthcare System 3-Year Financial Plan
This paper presents a three-year financial projection for Carolinas Healthcare System, a non-profit integrated healthcare organization serving North and South Carolina. Beginning from a 2015 baseline of approximately $9 billion in net revenues, the projection covers revenue growth through tertiary and acute care services, continuing care, specialty services, and physician services. The paper also examines the organization's business-to-consumer service model, the role of internal resources and financial capabilities in executing the financial plan, and budget assumptions driving projected growth — including demographic trends such as the aging baby boomer population and Medicare expansion. Expense forecasts for wages, equipment, and new programs are discussed alongside strategic rationale.
- Overview of Carolinas Healthcare System: Introduction to organization size, scope, and mission
- Three-Year Financial Projection Table: Tabular revenue and expense data, 2015–2018
- Business Model and Revenue Structure: Business-to-consumer model and primary revenue sources
- Internal Resources and Financial Capabilities: How physician expertise and financial capability shape the plan
- Budget Assumptions and Revenue Growth Strategies: Growth drivers including baby boomers and Medicare trends
- Projected Expense Trends: Wage increases, equipment costs, and new program spending
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds all revenue and expense projections in concrete dollar figures and percentages, making the financial argument transparent and verifiable.
- Connects macroeconomic demographic trends — specifically baby boomer aging and Medicare enrollment — directly to specific line items in the projected budget.
- Balances quantitative data from the financial tables with qualitative explanation of the business model, creating a complete financial narrative rather than just a spreadsheet.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates evidence-based financial forecasting: each projection is supported by a stated assumption (e.g., 7% growth in Year 1, 5% thereafter) and linked to an organizational or environmental driver. This technique — connecting macro trends to line-item estimates — is foundational in healthcare financial planning and managerial accounting.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an organizational overview, followed by a detailed tabular projection of net revenues and net expenses across four periods (2015 baseline plus three projected years). The second section shifts to analytical prose, explaining the business model, the influence of internal resources and financial capabilities, and the specific assumptions behind both revenue growth and expense increases. References are cited in APA format throughout.
Overview of Carolinas Healthcare System
Carolinas Healthcare System, a non-profit self-sustaining public organization, is the largest healthcare system in the combined Carolinas region. It is a multi-disciplinary, integrated healthcare system that provides an extensive range of health and human services to the general public. The organization owns, leases, and manages hospitals, nursing homes, physical therapy facilities, home healthcare agencies, and other healthcare-associated operations (Carolinas Healthcare System, 2016). The organization employs more than 60,000 personnel and maintains a capacity of over 7,500 registered beds. The following sections encompass a projected budget containing a three-year financial projection beginning December 31, 2015. The financial projection takes into account detailed expenditures, income, contingency, and gain or loss (Carolinas Healthcare System, 2015), and outlines the net revenues and net expenses of the organization.
Three-Year Financial Projection Table
The table below presents the three-year financial projection for Carolinas Healthcare System, beginning with the 2015 baseline and extending through Years 1, 2, and 3 (fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2018). All figures are in thousands of dollars unless otherwise noted. Each revenue and expense category is shown alongside its percentage of total for the corresponding year.
NET REVENUE
Tertiary & Acute Care Services: 2015 — $6,877,396 (76%); Year 1 — $7,544,000 (78%); Year 2 — $7,819,646 (77%); Year 3 — $8,103,997 (76%)
Continuing Care Services: 2015 — $282,080 (3%); Year 1 — $467,147.70 (4.83%); Year 2 — $639,789.30 (6.30%); Year 3 — $789,073.40 (7.40%)
Specialty Services: 2015 — $82,055 (1%); Year 1 — $93,816.41 (0.97%); Year 2 — $121,864.60 (1.20%); Year 3 — $106,631.50 (1%)
Physicians' Services: 2015 — $1,565,625 (17%); Year 1 — $732,308.70 (14%); Year 2 — $1,370,977 (13.50%); Year 3 — $1,386,210 (13%)
Other Services: 2015 — $231,905 (3%); Year 1 — $212,779.50 (2.20%); Year 2 — $203,107.70 (2%); Year 3 — $277,242 (2.60%)
Totals: 2015 — $9,039,061; Year 1 — $9,671,795; Year 2 — $10,155,385; Year 3 — $10,663,154
NET EXPENSES
Wages, Salaries & Benefits: 2015 — $4,981,692 (55%); Year 1 — $5,230,777 (54.08%); Year 2 — $6,315,634 (62.19%); Year 3 — $6,611,156 (62%)
Materials, Supplies & Other: 2015 — $3,010,451 (34%); Year 1 — $2,810,037 (29.05%); Year 2 — $2,843,508 (28%); Year 3 — $2,879,052 (27%)
Depreciation & Amortization: 2015 — $501,945 (6%); Year 1 — $506,964.50 (5.24%); Year 2 — $510,815.90 (5.03%); Year 3 — $639,789.30 (6%)
Financing Costs: 2015 — $122,844 (1%); Year 1 — $120,387.10 (1.24%); Year 2 — $103,584.90 (1.02%); Year 3 — $104,498.90 (0.98%)
Non-Operating Investment Losses: 2015 — $120,528 (1%); Year 1 — $78,343.20 (0.81%); Year 2 — $79,212 (0.78%); Year 3 — $85,305.23 (0.80%)
Funding for Facilities, Equipment & New Programs: 2015 — $301,601 (3%); Year 1 — $292,553 (3.02%); Year 2 — $302,630.50 (2.98%); Year 3 — $343,353.60 (3.22%)
Totals: 2015 — $9,039,061; Year 1 — $9,671,795; Year 2 — $10,155,385; Year 3 — $10,663,154
References
Carolinas Healthcare System. (2015). 2015 Annual Report.
Carolinas Healthcare System. (2016). Carolinas Healthcare System financial information. Retrieved August 6, 2016, from http://www.carolinashealthcare.org/about-us/corporate-financial-information
Moffit, R. E., & Senger, A. (2016). Medicare's rising costs — and the urgent need for reform. The Heritage Foundation.
Ovans, A. (2015). What is a business model? Harvard Business Review.
World Bank. (2013). Financial capability surveys around the world. Responsible Finance.
Already a member? Log in
Unlock the rest of this paper
135,000+ research papers · AI writing tools · Plagiarism & AI detection
7-Day Pass
Does not renew
Get 7-Day PassMonthly
Renews at $12.99/month until canceled
Start MonthlyAnnual
Renews at $99/year until canceled
Start Annual- Unlimited AI writing tools
- Plagiarism and AI text detection tool
Plan details
Unlimited AI writing tools are for individual, non-automated use and are subject to our Terms of Service and abuse-prevention measures.
TextChecker scans: 3 during the 7-Day Pass, or 5 per month with Monthly and Annual.
Prices exclude applicable tax.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.