Final answer:
Nonprofit hospitals constitute the largest group of hospitals and hospital beds in the United States, focusing on reinvesting revenue rather than distributing profits to shareholders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of ownership that constitutes the largest group of hospitals and hospital beds in the United States is nonprofit hospitals. These nonprofit hospitals operate not to earn profits for shareholders, but to reinvest any excess revenue into the hospital’s infrastructure, services, and community efforts. This is in contrast to for-profit hospitals, which are owned by private investors and are aimed at generating profit, and government-owned hospitals, which are managed by federal, state, or local governments. A community-owned hospital can be classified as either nonprofit or for-profit, depending on its governance and revenue distribution practices. To add context, a nonprofit health organization focuses on providing services regardless of profit, a private hospital is typically for-profit, and a governmental agency like Health and Social Services would be categorized under government-owned.