Deck 1: Healthcare Politics

Question 1

Which of the following is a significant obstacle to a comprehensive and consistent healthcare policy?

A) Shotgun approach followed by policymakers
B) Separation of powers
C) Politics of election cycles
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Policy making in the United States

A) Is always driven by facts and not societal values
B) Involves struggle over ideas and values
C) Is essentially an exercise in scientific decision-making
D) Always based on objective facts and scientific evidence

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Policy cycle includes

A) Getting problem to the government and agenda setting
B) Policy formulation, legitimation and budgeting
C) Policy implementation and evaluation
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The health policy environment can be thought of as

A) A total matrix of factors that that influence and shape health policy cycle
B) Environmental problems that negatively impact people's health
C) Totality of government health programs
D) Health regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Question 5

To whom does Congress routinely delegate day-to-day decision-making authority in implementing government programs?

A) Private sector
B) the President
C) Bureaucracy
D) State legislatures

Question 6

What role does the Judiciary play in healthcare policy?

A) Confirms that the implementation of laws meets constitutional standards
B) Ensures that administrative agencies discharge their assigned responsibilities
C) Enforces the Administrative Procedures Act
D) All of the above

Question 7

Policy makers view policy decisions from the perspective of

A) Long-term, overall benefits
B) Short-term, tangible benefits
C) Problem solving
D) Maximum-possible value

Question 8

According to the authors, which of the following philosophers' ideas pervades American political thought and institutions?

A) Carl Jung
B) John Locke
C) Alexis de Tocqueville
D) Jeremy Bentham

Question 9

According to James Madison, what should be done in regards to factions?

A) Eliminate them
B) Control their effects
C) Promote their growth
D) None of the above

Question 10

When the same party controls the presidency and both houses of Congress, it is referred to as

A) Divided government
B) Unitary government
C) Federal government
D) Unified government

Question 11

The federal government uses a variety of tools (carrots and sticks) to encourage state government to participate in and to implement federal programs. These include

A) Pre-empting state action
B) Imposing federal mandates
C) Providing financial incentives thorough federal grants
D) All of the above

Question 12

Which of the following makes it difficult to pass laws/policies by a simple majority in the Senate?

A) Seniority
B) Committee system
C) Cloture
D) Unified government

Question 13

Which of the following is not a component of an iron triangle?

A) Journalists
B) Congress
C) Bureaucracy
D) Interest groups

Question 14

According to some, the subgovernment model of policymaking has been replaced by what model?

A) Madisonian model
B) Backroom model
C) Issue networks model
D) Iron triangle model

Question 15

What was the Madisonian system designed to do?

A) Prevent a tyranny of the majority
B) Increase the size of interest groups to better allow the people to have a voice in policymaking
C) Create a third-party payer system of health care
D) None of the above

Question 16

An incremental nature of policy making in the United States is a result of

A) Separation of Powers and checks and balances
B) Bargaining and compromises
C) Desire to reduce negative the impact of negative and politically risky consequences
D) All of the above

Question 17

According to the authors, why do some argue that divided government can sometimes be better than unified government?

A) It prevents hasty decision-making
B) It requires the president to reach out to members of the other party
C) It makes the government more representative of the people
D) It forces Congress to be more receptive to the complaints of the citizenry

Question 18

In situations where a unified government exists (one political party controls both Congress and the White House), which of the following is true?

A) Success is guaranteed for the president
B) The opposition party will reclaim either Congress or the White House in the next election cycle
C) Party unity will trump local interests
D) None of the above

Question 19

Generally, where does policymaking in Congress take place?

A) Numerous committees and subcommittees
B) Offices of the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader
C) Party leadership
D) Lobbyists

Question 20

All the power and authority over the health policy in the Executive branch is given to

A) Office of the Surgeon General
B) Department of Health and Human Services
C) Health Resources and Services Administration
D) Many different federal agencies

Question 21

Which of the following, according to some research studies, is not true about the effectiveness of interest groups to influence public policy?

A) Negative lobbying is most effective influence.
B) Positive lobbying is the most efficient way to influence public policy.
C) Negative lobby is the strongest predictor of policy outcomes.
D) Coalition-building with other interest groups is an effective way to influence public policy.

Question 22

After World-War II, the number/frequency of

A) Divided government increased significantly
B) Unified government has increased dramatically
C) Divided government has declined greatly
D) Divided and unified governments have remained about the same.

Question 23

The origins of political tribalism in the United States can be traced to

A) 1960s
B) 1980s
C) Early to mid-1990s
D) The Colds War in the 1950s

Question 24

Political polarization in American politics is reflected in

A) Increased partisanship in Congress
B) Ideological divide
C) Public opinion polls
D) All of the above

Question 25

Major healthcare providers in the United States include

A) Institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, physician offices
B) Physicians, physician assistants
C) Nurses
D) All of the above

Question 26

The corporatization of American medicine is reflected in

A) Commercialization healthcare
B) The rise in number of investor-owned for-profit hospitals
C) Increased in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the field of healthcare
D) All of the above

Question 27

The birth of the modern private health insurance system in the United States can be traced back to

A) Civil War
B) Pre-paid hospital plan (Blue Cross) established at the Baylor University in 1929
C) World War II
D) World War I

Question 28

At the federal level, the primary agency/department responsible for carrying out federal health policies and programs is

A) Department of Health and Human Services
B) Food and Drug Administration
C) National Institutes of Health
D) Health Research and Services Administration

Question 29

The agency responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP programs at the federal level is

A) Office of the Surgeon general
B) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
C) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
D) Indian Health Service