Nonprofit ownership, private property, and public accountability

Abstract

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.