In this Article:
Finding the Right Hospital
Who Owns the Hospital
Asking the Right Questions
First and foremost, find this out: where is the money coming from? Put another way, who owns the hospital? The answer will probably fall into one of three categories:
• Voluntary (i.e. religious group)
• Proprietary (i.e. private ownership)
• Government-supported (i.e. city, county)
A Voluntary hospital typically functions under the auspices of a particular religion or other non-profit body. As such, the hospital will have a board of trustees on whose shoulders the final say and ultimate responsibility will lie. The board is often chosen from high-standing members of the business community and the position is not generally a paid one. The hospital itself is managed, or run, by a paid administrator.
Proprietary hospitals are for-profit; they are commercial businesses. Judgment should not be swayed too far one way or the other on the fact that they need to make a profit in order to stay in business, however,
It is rare for these hospitals to be owned by a single individual; more often they are owned by hospital corporations, and it is likely the same company operates a ‘chain’ of these hospitals, and it is also likely that they also own and operate other health care facilities as well, such as a rehab clinic or a nursing home.
Government-supported hospitals are at the mercy of state and/or federal budgets, and consequently may have to cut back on the services they provide. You might find the accommodations lacking when compared to proprietary hospitals, and you may find them short on private rooms.
Profit vs. Not-for-Profit
Would a for-profit hospital discharge you, or skip out on a treatment you might need, because you were either uninsured or your insurance coverage only allows a certain amount of time in the hospital? Consumer advocates say yes, and some peer-reviewed studies in medical journals would indicate that you should think twice before going to a for-profit hospital, whether or not you have health insurance.
A 1987 study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined half a million patient discharge records from hospitals in the US and concluded the following: uninsured patients tended to be discharged from the hospital sooner than insured patients, even when their condition was worse. Now, this study did not differentiate between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals, but it helps to suggest that a hospital’s bottom line has some say, albeit minor, in the quality of one’s treatment.
A 2000 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that surgical complications and diagnostic delays were more 2 to 4 times more likely to occur to patients at for-profit hospitals than they did at not-for-profits.
Finally, some research suggests that mortality rates are highest at for-profit hospitals, higher even than those at teaching hospitals.
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