Study on the new regulations of private medical institutions in USA and its implications for China / 中华医院管理杂志

In the face of conversions of private medical institutions in the United States,the federal and state governments of the United States have developed corresponding laws and policies to adapt to the situation.The paper made an analysis of the profile and causes of the changed business nature of such institutions,and an introduction to the laws on which such change took place,the roles and responsibilities of government departments,the assets disposal and tax exemption status as well as the pricing policies.

Pros and Cons of For-profit Hospitals and Policy Alternatives

Currently, the Korean government is actively advocating the need to allow for-profit medical institutions. According to the government, the establishment of for-profit medical institutions would further improve the quality of medical services and create new employment. However, the issue has triggered a social controversy between the two major parties of interest; some claim that for-profit hospitals would only cause negative effects while the others emphasize the advantages of such institutions. Proponents of for-profit hospitals argue that this new type of medical institution would enable patients to receive more diverse and advanced medical services. In addition, they also believe that hospitals would experience more efficient and transparent management, raise capital with greater ease, and in turn, use the additional funds for more sophisticated medical research. On the other hand, opponents claim that they would only increase medical expenses while decreasing access to medical care. The goals that the government seeks to achieve with for-profit medical institutions can be accomplished by eliminating or easing regulations on existing hospitals and clinics. The introduction of for-profit medical institution is expected to deliver the projected benefits not solely because the current medical institutions are non-profit but because they are banned from pursuing commercial activities by law and regulation. Before considering plans to establish for-profit medical institutions, priority should be on easing or eliminating regulations that interfere with market principles such as compulsory participation of medical institutions in national medical insurance should be eliminated or eased

A comparative study of the for-profit and nonprofit hospitals in a Southern province / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective To find out about the current situation of the for-profit hospitals in a Southern province and to compare them with the nonprofit hospitals there of the same size. Methods Using routine health statistics data of the year 2002,71 for-profit hospitals with authorized beds were compared with 132 nonprofit hospitals of the same size.Results The for-profit hospitals had a small number of staff and basically little burden posed by retired personnel;they provided a small volume of outpatient and emergency services but a volume of inpatient services equal to that provided by the nonprofit hospitals;their income and expenditure levels were less than half of those of the nonprofit hospitals,but they had a balanced budget;like the nonprofit hospitals,they faced the issue of patients defaulting on payment.Conclusion Now that the development of non-public economy is being encouraged in the country,for-profit hospitals will witness high growth.Thus possible adverse effects ought to be carefully taken into account in the formulation of policies and corresponding countermeasures ought to be taken.