Healthcare's Catch-22

The Paradox of Profit Motives in American Hospitals

Abstract

Over the decades, hospitals have slowly evolved from humanitarian foundations to business ventures and the impact of this dramatic shift can be seen in modern day healthcare. In the United States, hospitals typically establish arbitrary pricing methods, instruct staff to offer the highest priced services, and demand intense labor from residents without offering a fair compensation. These changes in vision and action have resulted in an ample number of Americans in tremendous medical debt. Incorporating evidence from reviews, personal anecdotes, and research journals, this manuscript demonstrates that hospitals are run with the intention of generating the most profit and revenue rather than with the noble purpose of philanthropy from which the idea of hospitals were first conceived. It argues that hospitals have long benefitted from generous tax breaks, there is a need for an intervention of checks and balances from policymakers, and for more reasonable compensations for hospital staff's strenuous labor.