What is non-profit?

Take a look at the following.

Note the words “for-profit system.”

All health care systems are for profit in one way or another. There is only one alternative. That is 100% government owned and run. That means all health care providers are employees of the government and the government owns all hospitals and other facilities and all pharmacies pharmaceutical companies. No system operates that way.

In any case, profit is not our problem, not insurance company profit certainly which is generally what Tweets such as the above allude to. But health insurance is not our health care system. It’s a payment and reimbursement system. It pays people directly or indirectly for unanticipated (at least it was supposed to be unanticipated) losses, just like auto and homeowners insurance.

There are checks on profits via negotiated discounts. Our problem is the system allows cost shifting from one group to another. It also reflects the American view that more is better when it comes to health care and the general view that paying for health care should not be part of our budgeted expenses. And, of course, there is the problem of lack of universal and a base of uniform coverage.

The profit motive provides efficiency beyond what a bureaucracy can provide. Centrally controlled budgets lead to shortages, political maneuvering and hidden and not so hidden forms of rationing.

What we really need is a single system that is a public and private provider and insurance partnership that guarantees coverage for every citizen.


  1. The note ends with this statement: “… What we really need is a single system that is a public and private provider and insurance partnership that guarantees coverage for every citizen. …”

    Who is to pay for such a guarantee? Why isn’t every individual called upon to provide such a guarantee?
    Why do you limit it to citizens? Shouldn’t anyone/everyone be required to insure or self-insure their medical purchases? Why should one individual finance the guarantee for another individual – what’s is the rationale for that, and why shouldn’t every individual be called upon to finance their own guarantee? I mean, it is not as if the Mexicans will build the wall, nor the French will pay for our health coverage guarantee…

    If not, if you believe that health care is a right because you are an American citizen, then come out and say so, and provide your justification. We have no right to food. We have no right to water. The rights we identified are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Or rights in the Bill of Rights are guarantees that limit federal government interference in our daily lives, extended by the courts in their interpretation of the 14th Amendment to the states and local governments.

    That is, is health care coverage something like public schools and national defense, where all are responsible, but we don’t allocate the burdens on a level or per capita basis? And, if so, why isn’t the right established in the form of a voucher, so those who don’t use public schools can secure education elsewhere, and those who serve in the military need not pay for the military in taxes?

    I’ll say it again. Americans have been taught by the elitists in government, the political class and by academia that they should have the best health care coverage YOUR money will buy. That is, those groups will continue to promise you “Medicare for All” or free college or whatever … that someone else will pay … that we are a rich country … as a means of buying your votes.


    1. Thank you for pointing out that healthcare is not a Right. I get in trouble with my point of view on that subject. Healthcare is a modern invention. If you believe in a God, and Rights are given by God not by governments, then God would have ensured that you could be cured. If God created all things, then He also created disease and therefore death. Can’t have it both ways. Either way, it is not in our Constitution as a Right. Part of the pursuit of Liberty requires self responsibility. Otherwise you are depended on kings or dictators to give you only what they feel you need.


  2. Even many non-profits make a “profit” above actual costs if well run. Instead of paying out a dividend to shareholders they reinvest in new technology and their buildings just like the “for profit” hospital owners. Public hospitals are usually poorly funded and have to take so much more charity care that they can’t afford to maintain their buildings. During the 1990s, I saw many public hospitals torn down because they were so outdated and poorly funded and run. Public healthcare will not solve that problem but only lower care to what the politicians are will to buy votes with.

    Another reason that I know it is wrong is because the economist AOC liked the idea.


  3. The VA health system is completely government run and centralized. While the VA does many good things, there is much waste and abuse. For an idea as to how 100 percent government run health care would function, the VA is a good example of what to expect.


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