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Opinion

For-Profit Hospitals Act Generously, New Study Shows

When we understand economics, it should come as no surprise that for-profit hospitals take on a higher number of costly patients.
For-Profit Hospitals Act Generously, New Study Shows
A sign for a hospital in Montreal, Feb. 6, 2022. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
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Commentary

One of the major critiques of free markets is that certain industries, such as health care, are “too important” to be left to the self-interested forces of the market. Critics of a free market in health care argue that for-profit health care businesses will tend to ignore patients who have higher costs unless those patients are willing to pay significantly more.

Peter Jacobsen
Peter Jacobsen
Author
Peter Jacobsen is a writing fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). He teaches economics and holds the positions of assistant professor of economics at Ottawa University and Gwartney Professor of Economic Education and Research at the Gwartney Institute. He received his graduate education at George Mason University.