For-profit Hospitals: A comparative and longitudinal study of the for-profit hospital sector in four Western countries

Many now argue that for-profit hospital ownership is on the rise because of the retrenchment of public entitlements and – often more importantly in health care – pro-market reforms in the delivery of these services1. Most theoretical notions assume that for-profit hospitals are more efficient than nonprofit and public hospitals2. It is thought that the inclusion of for-profits in the mainstream health care delivery system may increase efficiency or lower costs3. Issues and ideas around ownership are central in the public arena and for-profit hospital care has thus become the subject of fierce... Mehr ...