Test Bank For Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations 8th Edition by Mary A. Nies, Melanie McEwen

1. Which best describes the primary reason that Americans are concerned about health care? a. Politicians are discussing how to improve health care. b. The media has provided mixed messages about the health care system. c. Our national health care costs keep increasing. d. The new health care system offers free services to Americans. ANS: C The primary reason for the focus on health care is the constantly increasing costs, which cannot be sustained. The costs of caring for the sick accounted for the majority of escalating health care dollars, which increased from 5.7% of the gross domestic product in 1965 to 17.8% in 2015. Politicians and the media both influence Americans’ perceptions about health care; however, they are not the primary reason why Americans are concerned. The new health care system will change the health care access and availability, but will not necessarily be offering any free services to Americans.