Some business differences between a community not-for-profit hospital and a large academic medical
center is that not-for-profit facilities are voluntary hospitals. They are exempt from paying any federal,
state, or local taxes and they provide essential community benefits, charity, training, or research. On the
other hand, academic, or teaching hospitals must offer graduate residency programs where the primary
goal is to train physicians. Teaching hospitals tend to operate several intensive care units, have the latest
technology, and offer more specialty doctors than subspecialties. They usually offer more services that
aren't found in other institutions like burn care, trauma care, and organ transplantation (Shi & Singh,
2019). With them having more specialty care I would imagine that prices would be more than at a not-for-
profit hospital. If a for-profit organization were to be built within the community where I am working,
some financial differences would arise. a A private for-profit hospital would be owned by a private investor,
corporations, or partnerships. They benefit the stockholders. Most private for-profit facilities are smaller
and specialize in heart or orthopedic surgeries and usually perform favorably compared to other hospitals
(Shi & Singh, 2019). Furthermore, a study published in Health Affairs in 2021 found that, in aggregate,
nonprofit hospitals spent 60 percent less than for-profit hospitals on charity care as a share of total
expenses (Rapfogel & Gee, 2019). However, being an academic facility has its financial benefits as well.
They can probably change more for their services just because there are not a lot of physicians that can
help depending on the circumstances. They also would have the best equipment to serve patients,
however, the patients might have to travel or stay for longer times. That also would benefit the academic
institution, specifically when they are able to get grants on research for certain medical issues.
Rapfogel, N., & Gee, E. (2019, February 22). How nonprofit hospitals can support communities and
Advance Public Health. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/nonprofit-
hospitals-can-support-communities-advance-public-health/
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2019). Chapter 8- Hospitals. In Essentials of the U.S. health care system (Fifth ed.,
pp. 182-204). Burlington, MA, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
