Healthcare consumers have two choices where to receive care. It can be in a non-for-profit hospital or for-profit hospital. It is a tough choice. Which hospital will provide the best quality care and which hospital services will be affordable?
Let’s look at the differences between for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare organizations. Many hospital officials say that for-profit organizations pay property and income taxes while nonprofit hospitals don’t. All not-for-profit organizations are tax-exempt and accept tax-deductible charitable contributions. According to Henderson, “The difference can be summarized as the difference in the right to transfer assets. A not-for-profit hospital does not have shareholders in the typical sense of the …show more content…
According to Henderson, “Studies found no significant differences in operating behavior between the two organizational forms” (p. 277). All the US hospitals are held accountable to provide the highest quality of care. But there is the difference between two organizational forms in access to care for poor and uninsured patients. For-profit hospitals are driven to make money and not lose their profits. It will be hard for a poor or uninsured patient to afford care in those hospitals because the prices may be high and expected to be paid in full. Henderson states, “Patients without insurance or other means of paying would be less likely to receive care” from for-profit hospitals (p. 276). For average American “for-profit” means expensive or not affordable. Other studies support Henderson claims. Becker states, “More recent research has found that for-profit hospitals are more likely to offer profitable care like open-heart surgery and less likely to offer unprofitable services like psychiatric emergency care or substance abuse treatment. For-profit hospitals are offering more services that are profitable and minimize preventive care which may be viewed financially not sustainable. Law professor Jill Horwitz, also found that for-profits respond more quickly to changes in financial incentives. When home health care became profitable, the likelihood of for-profit hospitals offering the services more than tripled, but when a law changed to make the services less profitable, the probability of for-profit hospitals offering them dropped
Let’s look at the differences between for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare organizations. Many hospital officials say that for-profit organizations pay property and income taxes while nonprofit hospitals don’t. All not-for-profit organizations are tax-exempt and accept tax-deductible charitable contributions. According to Henderson, “The difference can be summarized as the difference in the right to transfer assets. A not-for-profit hospital does not have shareholders in the typical sense of the …show more content…
According to Henderson, “Studies found no significant differences in operating behavior between the two organizational forms” (p. 277). All the US hospitals are held accountable to provide the highest quality of care. But there is the difference between two organizational forms in access to care for poor and uninsured patients. For-profit hospitals are driven to make money and not lose their profits. It will be hard for a poor or uninsured patient to afford care in those hospitals because the prices may be high and expected to be paid in full. Henderson states, “Patients without insurance or other means of paying would be less likely to receive care” from for-profit hospitals (p. 276). For average American “for-profit” means expensive or not affordable. Other studies support Henderson claims. Becker states, “More recent research has found that for-profit hospitals are more likely to offer profitable care like open-heart surgery and less likely to offer unprofitable services like psychiatric emergency care or substance abuse treatment. For-profit hospitals are offering more services that are profitable and minimize preventive care which may be viewed financially not sustainable. Law professor Jill Horwitz, also found that for-profits respond more quickly to changes in financial incentives. When home health care became profitable, the likelihood of for-profit hospitals offering the services more than tripled, but when a law changed to make the services less profitable, the probability of for-profit hospitals offering them dropped