Test Bank For Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective
7th Edition By Paul J. Feldstein, PhD 9781640550100 Chapter
1-38 Complete Guide .
Define health, healthcare, and health insurance - ANSWER: Health: The physical wellbeing of
individuals and the population
Health Care: The provision of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adverse health outcomes.
Health Insurance: The third-party system for paying for health care.
Where does health spending go? - ANSWER: 1) Hospital care (29%)
2) "other" health spending (19%)
3) Physician and clinical services (18%)
4) Remaining personal health care (13%)
5) Prescription drugs (10%)
6) Nursing care (5%)
7) Home health care (3%)
8) Dental services (3%)
Where does health spending come from? - ANSWER: 1) Private health insurance (33%)
2) Medicare (20%)
3) Medicaid (17%)
4) Other third party payers (16%)
5) Out of pocket payments (10%)
6) Other health-insurance programs (4%)
How does government spend on health? (2020) - ANSWER: 1) Medicare ($709)
2) Medicaid ($376)
3) Employer Health Tax Exclusion ($190)
4) Obamacare ($167)
How does government influence health care markets? - ANSWER: Regulation
Public Health Initiatives
Direct Provision of Health Care
Insurance Provision
Insurance Subsidies
Tax Breaks
Tax Penalties
, Examples of major government health programs - ANSWER: Medicare: Insurance for the elderly,
provided by the Federal Government
Medicaid: Insurance for the poor, provided by States and funded jointly
CHIP: Insurance for children
Exchange Subsidies: Insurance subsidies for low-moderate income people buying on exchanges
Employer Health Exclusion: Tax preference for the purchase of health insurance by employers on
behalf of employees
What market failures does health care suffer from? - ANSWER: Externalities
Public Goods (and related goods)
Monopolies (and related structures)
Information asymmetry
Adverse selection
Moral hazard
Irrationality
Undesired resource allocation (ie inequality)
Examples of externalities that exist in health care? - ANSWER: Production externality: Unhealthy
workers are less productive
Infection externality: Many diseases are communicable
Fiscal externality: Health costs can sometimes be "shifted" (insurance pools, emergency room care,
Medicaid, etc)
"Caring externality": There is a social cost to others being sick.
Examples of Monopoly in health care? - ANSWER: For some health care, it is impossible for people to
"price shop" (especially emergency care), creating a temporary monopoly situation
Regulations limit the number of Medical school applicants and therefore doctors
Hospital systems are often concentrated in a way that they have near-monopoly power
Drug companies and other health technology companies receive temporary monopolies in the form of
"patents"
Providers often have "monopoly on information"
Examples of Irrationality in health care - ANSWER: Myopia and Risk Misperception against
saving/preparing for health costs
Bounded Rationality - limits on information (comparative effectiveness) and high-cost of attaining
further information
7th Edition By Paul J. Feldstein, PhD 9781640550100 Chapter
1-38 Complete Guide .
Define health, healthcare, and health insurance - ANSWER: Health: The physical wellbeing of
individuals and the population
Health Care: The provision of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adverse health outcomes.
Health Insurance: The third-party system for paying for health care.
Where does health spending go? - ANSWER: 1) Hospital care (29%)
2) "other" health spending (19%)
3) Physician and clinical services (18%)
4) Remaining personal health care (13%)
5) Prescription drugs (10%)
6) Nursing care (5%)
7) Home health care (3%)
8) Dental services (3%)
Where does health spending come from? - ANSWER: 1) Private health insurance (33%)
2) Medicare (20%)
3) Medicaid (17%)
4) Other third party payers (16%)
5) Out of pocket payments (10%)
6) Other health-insurance programs (4%)
How does government spend on health? (2020) - ANSWER: 1) Medicare ($709)
2) Medicaid ($376)
3) Employer Health Tax Exclusion ($190)
4) Obamacare ($167)
How does government influence health care markets? - ANSWER: Regulation
Public Health Initiatives
Direct Provision of Health Care
Insurance Provision
Insurance Subsidies
Tax Breaks
Tax Penalties
, Examples of major government health programs - ANSWER: Medicare: Insurance for the elderly,
provided by the Federal Government
Medicaid: Insurance for the poor, provided by States and funded jointly
CHIP: Insurance for children
Exchange Subsidies: Insurance subsidies for low-moderate income people buying on exchanges
Employer Health Exclusion: Tax preference for the purchase of health insurance by employers on
behalf of employees
What market failures does health care suffer from? - ANSWER: Externalities
Public Goods (and related goods)
Monopolies (and related structures)
Information asymmetry
Adverse selection
Moral hazard
Irrationality
Undesired resource allocation (ie inequality)
Examples of externalities that exist in health care? - ANSWER: Production externality: Unhealthy
workers are less productive
Infection externality: Many diseases are communicable
Fiscal externality: Health costs can sometimes be "shifted" (insurance pools, emergency room care,
Medicaid, etc)
"Caring externality": There is a social cost to others being sick.
Examples of Monopoly in health care? - ANSWER: For some health care, it is impossible for people to
"price shop" (especially emergency care), creating a temporary monopoly situation
Regulations limit the number of Medical school applicants and therefore doctors
Hospital systems are often concentrated in a way that they have near-monopoly power
Drug companies and other health technology companies receive temporary monopolies in the form of
"patents"
Providers often have "monopoly on information"
Examples of Irrationality in health care - ANSWER: Myopia and Risk Misperception against
saving/preparing for health costs
Bounded Rationality - limits on information (comparative effectiveness) and high-cost of attaining
further information
