Significance of the Founding Body (Ownership Authority) for Financial Performance of Hospitals in Poland – Evidence from County and Provincial Hospitals

The purpose of the article/hypothesis: The purpose of the article is to identify and assess differences in the financial performance of Polish hospitals according to the type of the founding body. Research hypothesis assumes that the founding body is of great importance for the hospital's financial condition. Methodology: Selected financial ratios illustrating various areas of financial performance of the analyzed units are used in the study. Statistical significance is also verified in terms of differences between the mean values of indicators characterizing the financial performance of hospitals. The study is conducted on the example of public hospitals subordinated to provinces (voivodships) and counties (poviats). Results of the research: The assessment of the financial performance shows that the situation of the provincial hospitals seems to be slightly better than that of the county ones. In addition, the study shows significant differences between the analyzed groups of hospitals within the areas of debt, as well as in the case of cash (immediate) financial liquidity, which allows only to partially accept the research hypothesis. In case of current and quick liquidity, as well as obtained profitability, unambiguous verification of the hypothesis is not possible.