Deck 5: The De Mand for Health and Medical Care

Question 1

Factors affecting medical care demand include

A)health status.
B)demographic characteristics.
C)economic standing.
D)physician factors.
E)all of the above.

Answer 1

all of the above.

Question 2

McKeown's (1976) research attributed the majority of the secular decline in mortality rates in Europe and North America to

A)better nutrition and housing.
B)improved sanitary conditions.
C)clean water and waste disposal.
D)reduced exposure to diseases.
E)better medical care.

Answer 2

better nutrition and housing.

Question 3

The top ten causes of death in the United States in 2005 included all of the following but

A)heart disease.
B)cancer.
C)suicide.
D)kidney failure.
E)AIDS.

Answer 3

AIDS.

Question 4

If health care spending is already on the flat-of-the-curve, it may not be possible to buy improved health status by increasing spending.In this situation, the best way to improve health status may be to

A)increase the availability of government health insurance.
B)invest in biotechnology to determine the genetic factors that improve health.
C)improve life-style decisions by reducing smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug use.
D)improve access to medical care.
E)improve overall educational attainment so people can better follow the advice from the medical community.

Question 5

A critical assumption in the model of demand and supply is the independence of demand and supply curves.If the two are not independent, a shift in the supply curve can lead to a shift in the demand curve referred to as

A)supply-side economics.
B)supplier-induced demand.
C)supply shocks.
D)ceteris paribus.
E)the fallacy of supply.

Question 6

Health care that actually harms the patient, such as an adverse reaction to a prescription drug is called

A)morbidity-related response.
B)defensive medicine.
C)adverse selection.
D)iatrogenic disease.
E)moral hazard.

Question 7

The RAND Health Insurance Study

A)examined cross-section data to estimate the demand function for medical care.
B)was the most extensive controlled experiment in health insurance ever conducted in the United States.
C)like most economic studies, was based on individual decisions in voluntarily choosing health insurance coverage.
D)was flawed due to severe self-selection bias.
E)was set up to study medical outcomes when individuals were free to choose the type of health coverage they desired.

Question 8

The following diagram depicts the market for physicians' services that is originally in equilibrium at point a with demand and supply at D₀ and S₀. As physician supply increases from S₀ to S₁, a concurrent shift in demand from D₀ to D₁

A) may be the result of physician-induced demand.
B) will cause overall spending on physicians' services to increase.
C) will force physicians to limit the number of patients they see.
D) both a and b.
E) all of the above.

Question 9

Many economists consider medical care a superior good.Which of the following statements is true regarding a superior good?

A)Consumers want more of a superior good regardless of its price.
B)When the price of a superior good increases, consumers demand more of it.
C)As consumer income increases a larger percentage of that income is spent on superior goods.
D)A superior good has an income elasticity of demand greater than one.
E)Both c and d are true of superior goods.

Question 10

The number one cause of death in the United States among 25 to 44 year olds in 1998 was

A)AIDS.
B)adult-onset diabetes.
C)homicide and accidents.
D)suicide.
E)pneumonia and influenza.

Question 11

The accompanying diagram depicts the relationship between health status and medical care spending for a particular country.Which of the following statements is true?

A)At the current spending level of S₁ on TP₁, this society can get a greater improvement in health status by increasing spending to S₂ than by shifting TP to TP₂.
B)S₁ levels of spending may be described as spending on the flat-of-the-curve.
C)Social pressures will move the health care system to spend S₂.
D)All statements are true.
E)All statements are false.

Question 12

The concept quality-adjusted life year (QALY)

A)is a multidisciplinary approach to measuring health status.
B)has little application to medical decision making.
C)is used extensively in the U.S.to evaluate health care programs.
D)is used extensively to evaluate medical care resource allocation within government-run programs on fixed budgets, especially in Europe.
E)none of the above.

Question 13

A physician's ability to induce demand is greatly enhanced when

A)patients pay their own medical bills.
B)patients request follow-up visits.
C)patients have difficulty gathering and processing information.
D)the physician follows strict treatment guidelines.
E)treatment options are limited.

Question 14

The number one cause of death in the United States in 1998 was

A)AIDS.
B)heart disease.
C)cancer.
D)stroke.
E)homicide and accidents.