
Health Care Risk Financing Certificate Program
Understanding the basics of risk financing allows the risk manager to tie clinical event prevention efforts directly to the financial ramifications
This course is designed to help risk managers learn key risk financing information and techniques, as well as how to better analyze and promote their own programs. From reviewing loss runs to understanding actuarial reports, an educated risk manager can more fully engage their c/suite by facilitating conversations around the financial implications of the risk management program to the organization.
The course starts by looking at insurance policies and ends with marketing the insurance program to the carriers – illustrating how the options of risk financing can parallel the organization’s philosophy on risk identification, mitigation, and resolution. By setting the foundational knowledge, and then adding case studies and an actuarial overview, the course is comprehensive and practical.
The certificate program uses a live virtual learning approach, which provides attendees with on-demand educational videos, discussion boards, readings, assignments, and knowledge checks as well as 5 weekly live calls with faculty. Upon completion of the Risk Financing Certificate Program attendees will earn 14.5 contact hours and ANCC contact hours which can be applied to the CPHRM renewal.
Benefits of the Risk Financing Certificate Program
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Determine insurance limits and coverage for your insurance program.
- Select the best method of reserving for your insurance program.
- Consider decision points to manage the risk exposures of your insurance program.
- Understand the impact of actuarial analysis on future loss projection.
Virtual Course Agenda
Download the Summer 2025 Risk Finance Agenda
Download the Fall 2025 Risk Finance Agenda
Who should attend this program?
Although this program is most appropriate for beginners or those with an intermediate understanding of risk financing principles, it covers enough information to benefit even the most experienced risk manager.
Topics Covered:
Module 1 | Risk Financing Overview
OBJECTIVES
- Define risk financing, policy types, important market trends, common risk financing structures, and modification factors.
- Explain the value of a philosophy statement.
- Describe how different methods of reserving impact the insurance program.
Module 2 | Projecting Future Risk
OBJECTIVES
- Calculate the occupied bed equivalent for multiple hospitals.
- Compute a hospital's modification factor for purposes of insurance funding.
- Explain how prospective year funding and prior year liability are calculated.
Module 3 | The Tools of Risk Financing
OBJECTIVES
- Explain reserve and risk classification types.
- Learn to classify risk as unintended or intended.
- Explain the ramifications of hold harmless language.
Module 4 | Implementing Risk Financing Strategies
OBJECTIVES
- Develop a marketing strategy for the renewal of an insurance program.
- Distinguish the difference between a soft and hard insurance market.
- Analyze total premium and the implications of allocation decisions.
FACULTY
Elizabeth Huntington, MSN, JD

Elizabeth Huntington, MSN, JD
Corporate Director Risk Management & Insurance, Baptist Health
Ms. Huntington holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law, and a Master of Science (M.S.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the past 15 years, Ms. Huntington's primary career focus has been risk finance, Captive Insurance management, and litigation management for large healthcare organizations that retain high self-insured retentions in either Captive Insurance programs or Risk Retention Groups. Currently, Elizabeth is Corporate Director of Risk and Insurance Management at Baptist Health System in Little Rock, Arkansas. She serves on the Board of Managers for Diamond Risk Insurance LLC and oversees the clinical and enterprise risk programs for the system, manages the enterprise's risk finance program and oversees the litigation management of professional and general liability claims for the system’s twelve hospitals and 500+ physicians and advanced practice providers.
Pamela Popp, MA, JD, DFASHRM, CPHRM, AIM

Pamela Popp, MA, JD, DFASHRM, CPHRM, AIM
Chief Risk Officer/Executive Vice President, GB Healthcare
Pamela has been involved in risk management organizations at the local, state and national level over 30 years. She has served as the president of ASHRM and a multi-year board member, as well as a president of the American Hospital Associations’ Certification Center. Pamela also served as board president of the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE), and continues as a faculty member on healthcare captive and risk financing topics and is currently serving as a Board member of the Healthcare Standards Institute Foundation. She is a frequent speaker and author on risk, claims and risk financing topics, and serves as faculty for ASHRM’s Risk Financing Certificate Program.
Pamela is licensed to practice law in both Missouri and Illinois. She received her bachelor’s degree from Truman State University, dual masters from Webster University, and her Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University. She is an ASHRM Distinguished Fellow, an ASHRM Distinguished Service Award recipient and was awarded the RIMS Lifetime Achievement Award/Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award.
Vincent F. Yezzi, FCAS, MAAA

Vincent F. Yezzi, FCAS, MAAA
Senior Director, WTW
Vince Yezzi is a consulting actuary with the firm’s Philadelphia office, where he has worked since 1986. He specializes in providing consulting services to the health care industry.
Vince’s consulting experience includes strategic planning and funding requirement analyses for numerous captive insurance companies and self-insured entities. He also has extensive experience in captive feasibility studies, allocation analyses for distributing captive or self-insured risk financing costs to individual members or entities and ratemaking reviews for physician programs.
In addition, his experience includes reserve reviews for most property/casualty lines of business, including workers’ compensation, general liability, products liability and commercial auto liability.
Vince is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences, including the Casualty Actuarial Society’s Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar, The Conference of Consulting Actuaries and ASHRM. He has authored and published articles in several publications, including The Actuarial Review and Captive Insurance Company Reports.
Education and Credentials
Vince has a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from St. Joseph’s University.
Vince is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).
He has served on the Joint Program Committee for the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar, the Committee on Healthcare Issues, and the CAS Examination Committee.
Important Course Information
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ASHRM Credit
This program is approved for 14.5 contact hours of continuing education credit toward fulfillment of the requirements of ASHRM designations of FASHRM (Fellow) and DFASHRM (Distinguished Fellow), and toward CPHRM renewal – for those who hold the designation at the time of the program.
Continuing Nursing Education (CNE)
American Society for Health Care Risk Management is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. This program has been approved for 14.5 contact hours.
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This course is offered 14.5 hours of online format.
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You will receive a Certificate of Completion upon completion of the following:
- Full online attendance during live calls
- Completion of all online activities
- Completion of evaluation taken within two weeks of the course
COURSE DATES:
ASHRM Summer Program
June 23 - August 8
Live Calls taking place from 12:00 – 1:00 pm CST
- July 1st – call 1
- July 10th – call 2
- July 17th – call 3
- July 24th – call 4
- July 31st – call 5
ASHRM Fall Program
October 27 - December 5
Live Calls taking place from 12:00 – 1:00 pm CST
- November 4th – call 1
- November 11th – call 2
- November 18th – call 3
- November 25th – call 4
- December 2nd – call 5
Note: These sessions are fully virtual and do not require physical attendance.
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
ASHRM Health Care Risk Financing Playbook
ASHRM Claims & Litigation Playbook
Aon/ASHRM Hospital and Physician Professional Liability Benchmark Report
Enterprise Risk Management for Health Care, Fourth Edition