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An American study shows that U.S. for-profit hospitals are more costly and less efficient than non-profit hospitals.
The study, prepared by the Harvard Medical School, clearly demonstrates that public and not-for-profit hospitals have a tremendous cost advantage over for-profit hospitals.
Private hospitals in the States spent three times more for administration than Canadian hospitals. A one-day stay in a for-profit U.S. hospital costs a whopping 35 to 57% more than in a comparable non-profit or public facility.
The report says clearly, “It is a myth that for-profit hospitals are efficient. They save money by laying off nurses, then hire consultants and bureaucrats to figure out how to avoid unprofitable patients. For-profits increase costs, decrease care and generate windfall profits…They’re fat and mean.”
[New England Journal of Medicine, March 1997]