21.1 Why
would increased spending as a percentage of GDP on, say, household
appliances or education in a particular economy be regarded as
economically desirable? Why, then, is there so much concern about rising
expenditures as a percentage of GDP on health care?
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21.2 What are the "twin problems" of the health care industry as viewed by society? How are they related?
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21.3 Briefly describe the main features of Medicare and Medicaid, indicating how each is financed
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21.4 What are the implications of rapidly rising health care prices and spending for (a) the growth of real wage rates, (b) government budgets, and (c) offshoring of U.S. jobs? Explain
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21.5 What are the main groups without health insurance?
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21.6 List the special characteristics of the U.S. health care market and specify how each affects health care problems.
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21.7 What
are the estimated income and price elasticities of demand for health
care? How does each relate to rising health care costs?
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21.8 Briefly discuss the demand and supply factors that contribute to rising health costs. Specify how (a) asymmetric information, (b) fee-for-service payments, (c) defensive medicine, and (d) medical ethics might cause health care costs to rise.
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21.9 How do advances in medical technology and health insurance interact to drive up the cost of medical care?
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21.10 Using
the concepts in Chapter 6's discussion of consumer behavior, explain
how health care insurance results in an overallocation of resources to
the health care industry. Use a demand and supply diagram to specify the
resulting efficiency loss.
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21.11 How is the moral hazard problem relevant to the health care market?
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21.12 What
is the rationale for exempting a firm's contribution to its workers'
health insurance from taxation as worker income? What is the impact of
this exemption on allocative efficiency in the health care industry?
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21.13 What are (a) preferred provider organizations and (b) health maintenance organizations? In your answer, explain how each is designed to alleviate the overconsumption of healthcare.
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21.14 What
are health savings accounts (HSAs)? How might they reduce the
overconsumption of health care resulting from traditional insurance? How
might they introduce an element of price competition into the health
care system?
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21.15 Why
is the PPACAs attempt to extend insurance coverage to all Americans so
costly? How does the PPACA attempt to obtain the funds needed to extend
insurance coverage to all Americans?
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21.16 How does the PPACA attempt to ensure affordable insurance for the poor?
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21.17 What were the objections made by opponents of the PPACA?
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21.18 LAST WORD
What are the three major cost-reducing features of the Singapore health
care system? Which one do you think has the largest effect on holding
down the price of medical care in Singapore? What element of the
Singapore system is shared by the Whole Foods and State of Indian
systems? What elements are missing? How difficult do you think it would
be to implement those missing elements in the United States? Explain.
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