The Dynamic Impact of Nonprofit Organizations: Are Health-Related Nonprofit Organizations Associated with Improvements in Obesity at the Community Level?

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations have the potential to influence public health by filling voids not filled by government or private organizations. Here we investigate whether the presence of health-related nonprofit organizations at the local community level helps to improve community-level obesity. This study used a time-series design using a random effects model to determine whether the entrance or exits of health nonprofits at the county level was associated with lower obesity rates in the US one and two years following the entrance or departures of nonprofits. The effect was small but significant in urban areas, with a smaller effect in rural areas. Our findings suggest that the presence of health nonprofits is associated with positive health outcomes, in this case obesity. The plausibility may be explained through the increased role nonprofits play in fostering social capital and increased promotion of health-related issues.

The Impact of Medicaid Expansions on Nonprofit Hospitals

“…Regardless of how Medicaid expansions affect the different types of hospitals, these hospitals are nonprofit entities; their financial status and dependence on government support have implications on their autonomy, legitimacy, and participation in policy advocacy (Jung and Moon 2007). As Frumkin and Andre-Clark (2000) recommend, the focus of nonprofits is not just on enhancing efficiency but, more importantly, on developing the distinctive nichesbased on their unique valuesto compete against for-profits in the increasingly competitive government-contracting market (Haslam, Nesbit, and Christensen 2019). One way that hospitals can better position themselves to compete-or to survive-is through acquisitions and mergers; an increase in hospital acquisitions was reported after the enactment of the ACA (Young 2017).…”