Hospital Lobbying and Performance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lobbying is a primary avenue through which business organizations attempt to influence legislation, regulations, or policies. In this study, we examine the association between lobbying and hospital performance and find that the effects of lobbying activities on hospital performance vary according to the distinct types of hospital ownership. Specifically, we find that lobbying raises employee salaries in not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals, reduces uncompensated care costs in both for-profit and NFP hospitals, and increases return on assets (ROA) in for-profit hospitals. We also find that the effects of lobbying on employee salaries, uncompensated care costs, and ROA are not significant in government hospitals. Taken together, our findings suggest that NFP hospitals lobby to protect employees' interests, while for-profit hospitals lobby to maximize investors' interests. Our paper provides evidence to illustrate that the goals and effects of hospital lobbying vary according to hospital ownership types.