Issue Brief Summary

Will the Business and Financial Realities of the 21st Century Eliminate the Role of State Government in Health Care Decision-Making?
Part 1: Not-For-Profits - Viable or Obsolete?
October 23, 1996

The subject of this brief focuses on the health care industry trends of mergers, acquisitions and conversions of non-profit entities to for-profit status. Will the original mission of nonprofits be lost in the competitive health care arena? And what kinds of impacts will these trends have on the role of state government as policy maker, funder and regulator in the health care system that is rapidly becoming a commercial enterprise? Includes a history of nonprofits in this country, their role as safety net providers and an analysis of cutbacks to nonprofits. Sections include an overview of mergers, acquisitions and conversions of hospitals, insurance companies and managed care organizations; and state oversight of these conversions across the country. [12pp]


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