Assignment: Profit health care systems

For-profit health care systems are able to provide profitable returns to owners or investors (Wendt, Frisina, & Rothgang, 2009). According to the author, a for-profit health care system differs from a not-for-profit health care system primarily in relation to the profits of that the system is able to return (Wendt et al., 2009). By increasing the prices of services provided to patients, for-profit health care systems are able to accomplish this goal (Wendt et al., 2009). This usually occurs in an area where one company has control over the health care system in that particular area (Wendt et al., 2009). Of course, when any one company takes the majority control over any market, there becomes issues. In this case, it would be easy to increase the prices to whatever the controlling company wanted it to be because many people in the area would not have a choice between paying the higher price or going somewhere outside of that area (Wendt et al., 2009).

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Additionally, Herrera, Rada, Kuhn-Barrientos, and Barrios (2014) explain the concept of market power which can be defined as the amount of power a company has on the price of goods being provided. This concept can be seen in for-profit health care systems. This price control and inflation benefits not only the companies in charge of the system, but also the insurance companies (Herrera et al., 2014). Of course, this has a negative effect on the patients. One example of company influenced price increases that always comes to my mind is the EpiPen price increase. From what I can remember, the price increase by nearly 10 times the original amount. Many people, including my own brother, depend on this device in their every day lives. This obviously puts a huge financial strain on patients who have no choice but to pay the inflated amounts.

In contrast, non-profit can be defined as an organization that works to provide communities with necessary services while not profiting from those services (Prentice, 2016). Not-for-profit organizations seek to provide services “with the intent of benefiting a major interest group” (Harrington, 2016, p. 12). Our textbook explains that many hospitals and organizations fit into this category (Harrington, 2016). Not-for-profit organizations seek to keep their costs as low as possible so that they can continue to provide services to as many people as possible (Prentice, 2016). While some profits may occur due to the non-profit status of the organization, that amount is typically low and is still reported to the government as income (Prentice, 2016). Of course, with a not-for-profit organization, providers and insurance companies do not receive the same amount of income or profit due to the lower costs. The patients, however, greatly benefit from a not-for-profit system (Prentice, 2016). There may be lesser interest in provider participation with this type of system since the income would be lower (Prentice, 2016). Despard (2017) explains that nonprofit organizations are extremely important to the social safety net of Americans.

The bible states in Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”. While I would like to believe that the health care system should be profitable to providers and insurance companies while affordable to patients and consumers, I know that we are not there yet. As a health care professional, I will continue to do my best to provide quality care to those who are in need. Through utilizing our skills and remembering to be compassionate to those in need, I believe we are in the perfect position to provide quality care to all patients.

References

Despard, M. (2017). Can Nonprofit Capacity Be Measured? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(3), 607–626. Doi:10.1177/0899764016661425

Harrington, M. (2016). Health care finance and the mechanics of insurance and reimbursement. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Herrera, C., Rada, G., Kuhn-Barrientos, L., & Barrios, X. (2014). Does ownership matter? An overview of systematic reviews of the performance of private for-profit, private not-for-profit and public healthcare providers. PLoS ONE, 9(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093456

Prentice, C. (2016). Understanding nonprofit financial health: Exploring the effects of organizational and environmental variables. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(5), 888–909. doi:10.1177/0899764015601243

Wendt, C., Frisina, L., & Rothgang, H. (2009). Healthcare System Types. Social Policy & Administration, 43(1), 70-90. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2008.00647.x