A Longitudinal Analysis of the Distinction between For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Hospitals in America

Have changes in the hospital industry forced not-for-profit hospitals to become more like for-profit hospitals in measures of efficiency and community service? As a result, are not-for-profit hospitals moving away from their community service missions? In recent years researchers have asserted that the once-salient distinctions between not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals are quickly eroding and that this convergence threatens the community service that not-for-profit hospitals have historically provided. Neo-institutionalists explain that regulatory changes often force differing organization types to pursue similar strategies (Fligstein 1991, 1985; DiMaggio and Powell 1983). Guided by this theory, the present research analyzes if regulatory changes and the implementation of similar strategies result in not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals having similar efficiency and community service outcomes.