George V. Hager Jr., CEO of Kennett Square’s Genesis HealthCare, believes that people should not have such strong objection to a health company making a profit, writes Jane Von Bergen for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In a recent interview with the Inquirer, Hager, the head of one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers, expressed his views on what he believes is a somewhat-unfair portrayal of the for-profit health industry.

“My perspective is the difference between for-profit healthcare and nonprofit healthcare is not that both need to make money; it’s just where they access the capital that they need to operate the business,” said Hager.

Hager also pointed out that, in order to create Genesis and provide the services it does, it needs to have access to greater funding than most non-profits can generate. This requires giving something back.

“It’s just how you access your capital, because healthcare by its nature costs money,” he said. “This building cost almost $30 million to build. It’s expensive, and when people invest in that, they expect to get repaid.”

Read the entire interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Genesis HealthCare here.