Nonprofit ownership, private property, and public accountability.
Mark Schlesinger and Brad Gray have summarized research comparing nonprofit and for-profit health care in a remarkably useful form. Their paper effectively demonstrates how nonprofit and for-profit health care differ. However, their proposal for community control over nonprofit health care organizations in exchange for tax exemption, like many current proposals requiring nonprofit hospitals to provide free care for indigent patients, risks undermining the purpose of the nonprofit organizations and the care they provide. These trade-offs are significant yet have not been acknowledged in policy debate.
Horwitz
Jill
J
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. jrhorwit@umich.edu
D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D006302:Health Services Research; D006777:Hospitals, Proprietary / Q000191:economics*; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D010067:Ownership / Q000145:classification; D012941:Social Responsibility; D019464:Tax Exemption; D017664:Uncompensated Care; D014481:United States