An article to be published in Tuesday's Canadian Medical Association Journal says private hospitals cost taxpayers and insurance companies more than public ones.

A group of researchers looked at the difference in costs between private and public hospitals in the United States.

They conclude that if Canada switched to for-profit hospitals it would add $7.2 billion a year in health costs.

The article says profit-making hospitals cost about 19 per cent more than non-profit facilities.

Must satisfy shareholders

"You pay more because at the end of the day a for-profit facility has to actually generate money to satisfy shareholders," said Dr. P.J. Devereaux of McMaster University, one of the authors of the study.

"It has very high executive bonuses and it's very high in terms of administratively being really top-heavy."

The Canadian researchers looked at eight major studies done in the U.S. Five of those studies found that for-profit hospitals were more expensive.

The researchers say they decided to fast track publication of their findings so that the issue could be debated during the current federal election campaign.