In a study of hospital births, the single most important prediction factor of the percentage of vaginal births as opposed to caesarean (C-section) births was ownership status of hospitals—whether they were for-profit or nonprofit.

a. Which had more C-sections, and why?

b. What implications about the health care debate can you draw from the above results?

c. How might the results change if the for-profit hospital received a fixed per-patient payment—as it would in a managed care system?