It is December of 2018. The NHL Health System has many decisions to make. Itscapital budgeting process requires that the largest capital investments, those morethan $5 million, be approved by the corporate office. This year, as normal, thereare more than 30 requests, and the requests total more than $250 million. However,2018 is also a year of heightened uncertainty surrounding the U.S. healthcaresector. NHL has hired a prominent consultant (like you) to advise it on the risksand contingencies it should consider. Key areas of uncertainty that the consultinggroup identified include the following