MHA 710 Healthcare Economics Exam
Questions and Correct Answers
Question 1
Research indicates that the 2014 expansion of Medicaid has led to a number of
unintended consequences including:
a. higher per capita spending on the expansion population than anticipated.
b. fewer Medicaid enrollees seeking emergency room treatment.
c. expanded opiate use among the elderly.
d. more physicians accepting new Medicaid patients.
e. an increase in the birthrate among the eligible population.
Correct Answer
a. higher per capita spending on the expansion population than anticipated.
Question 2
Which of the following statements is not true about the Medicaid expansion under
the ACA?
a. Families with income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level are covered.
b. The federal government covered 100 percent of the total cost of the expansion
from 2014-2016.
c. In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling made the expansion mandatory for the
states.
d. Beyond 2016, the federal will pay 90 percent of the expansion cost, with the states
paying the other 10 percent.
Correct Answer
a. Families with income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level are
covered.
Page 1 of 106
,Question 3
Before entering the debate of whether access to medical care is a right, it is important
to distinguish between a negative right and a positive right. Which of the following
statements is true?
a. Consider that Peter has no money. In order for Peter to exercise his right to medical
care, the law requires that Paul pay for it. This is an example of medical care as a
positive right.
b. Negative rights are resource-extracting rights. They require taking resources from
one person in order for someone else to receive them.
c. Coercion of some kind is essential to guarantee a negative right.
d. Positive rights are freedom-preserving rights; they are enumerated in the
Constitution of the United States.
e. Entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid are examples of negative rights.
Correct Answer
a. Consider that Peter has no money. In order for Peter to exercise his right to
medical care, the law requires that Paul pay for it. This is an example of medical care
as a positive right.
Question 4
To better control overall Medicaid spending, most states:
a. establish strict rules against using the emergency room in non-emergency
situations.
b. enroll all eligible recipients in managed care plans.
c. require eligible enrollees to participate in wellness education programs, such as
smoking secession and nutrition classes.
d. set strict limits on the number of primary care physicians that can accept Medicaid
patients.
e. charge participants modest copays on physicians' services.
Correct Answer
b. enroll all eligible recipients in managed care plans.
Page 2 of 106
,Question 5
A collectively financed medical care system that provides universal coverage to a
basic benefits package for everyone, including the ability to purchase additional
coverage with a supplemental insurance policy:
a. Is unfair because it creates a two-tiered system.
b. will do harm to the more vulnerable segments of the population: poor, sick, and
elderly.
c. may not be equal but is welfare enhancing for everyone.
d. seldom works when actually applied in the real world.
Correct Answer
c. may not be equal but is welfare enhancing for everyone.
Question 6
True or False: Currently, about 60 percent of all Americans younger than 65 living
below the poverty level receive assistance through Medicaid.
Correct Answer
Question 7
How is the issue of the "free rider" relevant to the discussion of whether access to
medical care is a fundamental right?
a. Providing medical care at zero cost will maximize social welfare.
b. The free rider argument is based on the idea that access to medical care should be
free and available to everyone.
c. As long as there is excess capacity in the medical care system, providing free access
to care does not present a resource allocation problem.
d. The socially responsible approach is to provide free access to all the medical care a
person desires.
Correct Answer
b. The free rider argument is based on the idea that access to medical care should
be free and available to everyone.
Page 3 of 106
, Question 8
Which of the following countries placed highest on the healthcare access and quality
(HAQ) index?
a. Netherlands
b. United Kingdom
c. Germany
d. New Zealand
e. Switzerland
Correct Answer
e. Switzerland
Question 9
One of the best examples of managed competition in practice is:
a. an accountable care organization (ACO).
b. a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP).
c. a health maintenance organization (HMO).
d. the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP).
e. a preferred provider organization (PPO).
Correct Answer
d. the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP).
Question 10
In 2015, the Medicaid overall spending was higher than expected by:
a. 49 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 60 percent
d. 62 percent
Correct Answer
Page 4 of 106
Questions and Correct Answers
Question 1
Research indicates that the 2014 expansion of Medicaid has led to a number of
unintended consequences including:
a. higher per capita spending on the expansion population than anticipated.
b. fewer Medicaid enrollees seeking emergency room treatment.
c. expanded opiate use among the elderly.
d. more physicians accepting new Medicaid patients.
e. an increase in the birthrate among the eligible population.
Correct Answer
a. higher per capita spending on the expansion population than anticipated.
Question 2
Which of the following statements is not true about the Medicaid expansion under
the ACA?
a. Families with income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level are covered.
b. The federal government covered 100 percent of the total cost of the expansion
from 2014-2016.
c. In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling made the expansion mandatory for the
states.
d. Beyond 2016, the federal will pay 90 percent of the expansion cost, with the states
paying the other 10 percent.
Correct Answer
a. Families with income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level are
covered.
Page 1 of 106
,Question 3
Before entering the debate of whether access to medical care is a right, it is important
to distinguish between a negative right and a positive right. Which of the following
statements is true?
a. Consider that Peter has no money. In order for Peter to exercise his right to medical
care, the law requires that Paul pay for it. This is an example of medical care as a
positive right.
b. Negative rights are resource-extracting rights. They require taking resources from
one person in order for someone else to receive them.
c. Coercion of some kind is essential to guarantee a negative right.
d. Positive rights are freedom-preserving rights; they are enumerated in the
Constitution of the United States.
e. Entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid are examples of negative rights.
Correct Answer
a. Consider that Peter has no money. In order for Peter to exercise his right to
medical care, the law requires that Paul pay for it. This is an example of medical care
as a positive right.
Question 4
To better control overall Medicaid spending, most states:
a. establish strict rules against using the emergency room in non-emergency
situations.
b. enroll all eligible recipients in managed care plans.
c. require eligible enrollees to participate in wellness education programs, such as
smoking secession and nutrition classes.
d. set strict limits on the number of primary care physicians that can accept Medicaid
patients.
e. charge participants modest copays on physicians' services.
Correct Answer
b. enroll all eligible recipients in managed care plans.
Page 2 of 106
,Question 5
A collectively financed medical care system that provides universal coverage to a
basic benefits package for everyone, including the ability to purchase additional
coverage with a supplemental insurance policy:
a. Is unfair because it creates a two-tiered system.
b. will do harm to the more vulnerable segments of the population: poor, sick, and
elderly.
c. may not be equal but is welfare enhancing for everyone.
d. seldom works when actually applied in the real world.
Correct Answer
c. may not be equal but is welfare enhancing for everyone.
Question 6
True or False: Currently, about 60 percent of all Americans younger than 65 living
below the poverty level receive assistance through Medicaid.
Correct Answer
Question 7
How is the issue of the "free rider" relevant to the discussion of whether access to
medical care is a fundamental right?
a. Providing medical care at zero cost will maximize social welfare.
b. The free rider argument is based on the idea that access to medical care should be
free and available to everyone.
c. As long as there is excess capacity in the medical care system, providing free access
to care does not present a resource allocation problem.
d. The socially responsible approach is to provide free access to all the medical care a
person desires.
Correct Answer
b. The free rider argument is based on the idea that access to medical care should
be free and available to everyone.
Page 3 of 106
, Question 8
Which of the following countries placed highest on the healthcare access and quality
(HAQ) index?
a. Netherlands
b. United Kingdom
c. Germany
d. New Zealand
e. Switzerland
Correct Answer
e. Switzerland
Question 9
One of the best examples of managed competition in practice is:
a. an accountable care organization (ACO).
b. a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP).
c. a health maintenance organization (HMO).
d. the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP).
e. a preferred provider organization (PPO).
Correct Answer
d. the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP).
Question 10
In 2015, the Medicaid overall spending was higher than expected by:
a. 49 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 60 percent
d. 62 percent
Correct Answer
Page 4 of 106
