There are many differences between non-profit hospitals and
academic medical centers. When it comes to the non-profit hospital
take care of their financials a little bit differently. One of the big
differences is that they don’t have to pay taxes. They have to make
sure their main mission is to be there for the community and their
healthcare needs. Another difference to keep their status as non-
profit is that they need to make sure they can prove that they are
there for the community benefit on their tax forms. (Masterson,
2017) This does affect the way that the nonprofits handle staff,
policy, and procedures. They have to make sure they are there to
help the community and keep the status of non-profit. Academic
medical centers are basically like non-profit hospitals. AMCs are
basically the places where doctors go to learn. They offer general and
specialized services. They are also the ones that are used for medical
research as well. One of the biggest things that the AMCs have to
worry about is getting public funding. They have to raise their money
so they can keep the doors open and continue their teaching and
research. They also care for much of the people that are on Medicare
or Medicaid, need charity care, patients that are transferred from
other hospitals with complex medical needs, nor patients that are
burned or have trauma. So, this is one of the big reasons why they
must fundraise. They also have higher cost for any type of care. The
reason being is because they are not always getting the money back
that they have to spend for people that can’t pay. (George
Washington University, 2021)
If a for-profit hospital were to build in the area of a teaching hospital,
it could really hurt the hospital. The for-profit hospital have investors
that put their money into the hospital to keep it running. The for-
profit hospitals have to pay taxes such as property and income.
These hospitals are able to lower pricing if they want and are more
willing to offer services that are for profit then nonprofit services.
(Becker & CTMirror Contributor, 2014) These hospitals are able to
keep on more staff if need be because they have investors and don’t
have to fundraise to keep the hospital open. The non-profit hospital
might see patients leave because the for-profit hospitals also have a
network of many doctors and hospitals that they work with. So, if
that one does offer one service, they can send the patient to the
other.
Becker, A. L., & CTMirror Contributor. (2014, April 25). How different
are for-profit and nonprofit hospitals? CT Mirror. Retrieved from
https://ctmirror.org/2014/04/25/how-different-are-for-profit-and-
nonprofit-hospitals/
Masterson, L. (2017, May 25). Nonprofit, for-profit hospitals play
different roles but see similar financial struggles. Healthcare Dive.
Retrieved from https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/nonprofit-
for-profit-hospitals-play-different-roles-but-see-similar-financ/
442425/
George Washington University . (2021, July 7). Differences: Academic
vs. Community Medical Centers: GW University. George Washington
University. Retrieved from https://healthcaremba.gwu.edu/blog/the-
differences-between-community-and-academic-medical-centers/
