Who owns the hospital — a non-profit organization, a for-profit company, or a government body at federal, state or local level.
Why this matters to you
Ownership does not predict quality in any simple direction, and the research is genuinely mixed. What it does affect is behaviour around money: non-profit hospitals must provide community benefit and charity care to keep their tax exemption, which means financial assistance is often available even when it is not advertised. Ask about it regardless of ownership.
Official source
The authoritative definition and current rules are published here:
Rules and figures change. Where this page and the official source disagree, the official source is correct — and we would like to know, so please tell us.
Related terms
Important:
hospiguide.org is an independent informational resource. It is not affiliated
with, endorsed by, or connected to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or Medicare.
This site does not provide medical advice and should not be used to decide
whether to seek or delay care — talk to a clinician about your situation.
Quality measures come from CMS public datasets, released August 13, 2026, and reflect
care delivered during earlier reporting periods, so they may not describe a
hospital as it operates today.
Always verify details at
Medicare.gov Care Compare
or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).