Deck 11: The Market for Pharmaceuticals

Question 1

What is the most important factor leading to rising health care costs in the United States since 1980?
a. The increased use of expensive medical technology.
b. The aging U.S. population.
c. The increased cost of malpractice insurance for providers.
d. Rising incomes for physicians.
e. The rising cost of pharmaceutical drugs.

Answer 1

The increased use of expensive medical technology.

Question 2

Rent-seeking behavior results in
a. increased economic activity by promoting efficiency.
b. lower economic activity by diverting resource to less-productive uses.
c. a more equitable distribution of income and wealth.
d. lower prices throughout the economy.
e. greater income and wealth in the private sector.

Answer 2

lower economic activity by diverting resource to less-productive uses.

Question 3

Of the new drugs introduced in the United States between 1940 and 1990, what percentage were discovered by U.S. firms?
a. 15.
b. 30.
c. 45.
d. 60.
e. 75.

Answer 3

60

Question 4

Pharmaceutical companies receive patents as an exclusive right to produce a drug. This results in
a. normal profits on the patented drug.
b. monopoly status in the production of the drug.
c. lower prices for patients requiring the drug.
d. orphan drug status.
e. fewer new chemical compounds discovered.

Question 5

One of the primary reasons that costly technology is being introduced into the health care system is
a. research scientists have successfully mapped the human genome.
b. high cost is synonymous with better outcomes.
c. third-party insurance finances most of the cost of care.
d. all of the above.

Question 6

The regulatory agency with oversight responsibility for the pharmaceutical industry is the
a. IRS.
b. FDA.
c. SEC.
d. ITC.
e. ATT.

Question 7

The fastest-growing segment of pharmaceutical marketing is:
a. marketing to physicians
b. marketing to nurse practitioners
c. marketing to the consumer
d. none of these