Question 1

The idea behind ________ is that in any society, morality demands that people receive what they are due (what is fair).

Accepted Answer

Distributive justice is the concept that focuses on ensuring that individuals in a society receive fair treatment and an equitable share of the benefits of society. It deals with the distribution of wealth, goods, and opportunities in a manner that is considered fair and just.

Question 2

Louisa is an egalitarian about health care, which means she thinks citizens have only negative rights, not positive rights, to health care.

Accepted Answer

Being an egalitarian about health care means Louisa believes in equal access to health care for all citizens, implying she supports positive rights to health care, such as the right to receive medical services, rather than just negative rights, which would only entail non-interference in seeking health care.

Question 3

The Affordable Care Act includes a requirement that health insurance plans cover certain preventive care, such as immunizations, preventive care for children, and specified health screening tests for adults.

Accepted Answer

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that most health insurance plans cover a set of preventive services at no cost to the patient. This includes immunizations, preventive care for children, and various health screening tests for adults, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and other authorities.

Question 4

Medical treatment, disease prevention, emergency care, and public health measures are collectively referred to by the term

Accepted Answer

Health care encompasses medical treatment, disease prevention, emergency care, and public health measures. It refers to the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people.

Question 5

The fundamental moral issue involved in the health care debate is justice, which is about persons getting what is fair or what is their due. One of the ways we can ensure justice in health care is to preserve the principle that requires that equals be treated equally unless there is a morally relevant reason for treating them differently. This principle is called

Accepted Answer

The principle of impartiality requires that equals be treated equally unless there is a morally relevant reason for treating them differently, aligning with the concept of justice in health care.

Question 6

The philosopher who stresses the value of health care in terms of preserving and restoring "normal species functioning" is

Accepted Answer

Norman Daniels is known for his work in bioethics and health care ethics, particularly for his theory that emphasizes the importance of health care in maintaining "normal species functioning." This approach is part of his broader argument about justice and health care, where he extends John Rawls's theory of justice to include health needs as a matter of fairness.

Question 7

The concept of an equal right to health care necessarily includes universal equal access to all care resources.

Accepted Answer

Equal right to health care primarily focuses on ensuring that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, which does not automatically guarantee universal equal access to all care resources due to variations in resource availability, health care needs, and prioritization of services based on urgency and effectiveness.

Question 8

The primary difference between libertarian and egalitarian theories of justice is that

Accepted Answer

Libertarian theories emphasize negative rights, which are rights to not have something done to us (like not being harmed or not having our property taken without consent), and generally reject or minimize the role of positive rights, which are rights to have something provided to us (like healthcare or education). Egalitarian theories, on the other hand, support the existence of positive rights, arguing for a more equal distribution of resources and opportunities, including access to services like healthcare.

Question 9

In his book A Theory of Justice the philosopher John Rawls argues that people are entitled not to equal shares of the basic goods of society, but to an equal chance to acquire them. This aspect of his worldview is called

Accepted Answer

Rawls' concept of "equality of opportunity" is about ensuring that individuals have a fair chance to attain the society's goods, rather than guaranteeing equal outcomes for everyone. This contrasts with ideas that advocate for equal distribution of goods or benefits regardless of individual effort or circumstances.

Question 10

In debates about health coverage, some have tried to distinguish between healthy people who have lived their lives the "right way" and unhealthy people who have not taken proper care of themselves, referred to as the "undeserving sick," who do not deserve health care. Which of the following theories of justice is most likely to underlie this perspective?

Accepted Answer

The libertarian theory of justice emphasizes individual responsibility and the consequences of personal choices. It is most likely to underlie the perspective that distinguishes between "deserving" and "undeserving" sick based on their personal health choices, as it supports the idea that individuals should bear the outcomes of their actions, including health-related ones.

Question 11

Libertarians believe that, while people have a right not to be interfered with in their pursuit of health care, no member of that society has a right to demand any share of health care from that society, no matter how rich that society may be.

Accepted Answer

Libertarians typically argue for minimal government intervention in personal lives, including the belief that while individuals have the freedom to seek healthcare, they do not have the right to be provided healthcare at the expense of others. This is based on the principle of non-aggression and property rights, central to libertarian philosophy.

Question 12

Theories of justice that hold that people are entitled only to what they can freely acquire through their own legitimate efforts in a free market are called ________ theories.

Accepted Answer

Libertarian theories of justice emphasize individual freedom and argue that people are entitled to the outcomes of their own efforts and transactions in a free market, without redistribution by the state.

Question 13

Much of the health care in the United States is delivered through ________, a type of health insurance in which providers contract with an HMO, PPO, or POS to offer health care to a group of patients at discounted costs.

Accepted Answer

Managed care is a system where health care delivery is organized to manage cost, utilization, and quality, which often involves arrangements with specific providers (such as HMOs, PPOs, or POS plans) to offer care to members at reduced costs.

Question 14

Despite having the most expensive health care system in the world, the United States ranks near the bottom when compared to other industrialized countries on measures of health system quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and healthy lives, according to a recent report.

Accepted Answer

The United States often ranks poorly in international comparisons of health system performance despite spending more on health care than any other country. Reports such as those from the Commonwealth Fund have highlighted these disparities, showing that the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations in various health outcome metrics despite its high expenditure.

Question 15

Because managed care plans focus on costs and efficiency, some critics charge that this emphasis on business values could ultimately degrade the quality of care.

Accepted Answer

Managed care plans prioritize cost containment and efficiency, which critics argue could lead to a reduction in the quality of care as healthcare decisions might be influenced more by financial considerations than by patient health needs.

Question 16

The component of the Affordable Care Act called the individual mandate required that individuals have

Accepted Answer

The individual mandate, a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), required individuals to have basic health insurance unless they qualified for an exemption. This provision aimed to ensure that more Americans were covered by health insurance, reducing the number of uninsured and spreading the risk among a larger pool of insured individuals.

Question 17

The health insurance program supported jointly by the federal and individual state governments that covers low-income families, pregnant women, families and children, and people with disabilities is named

Accepted Answer

Medicaid is the program that is jointly funded by the federal and state governments to provide health coverage to low-income individuals and families, including pregnant women, families and children, and people with disabilities.

Question 18

Positive rights are those that only obligate others not to interfere with a person's obtaining something.

Accepted Answer

Positive rights require others to provide a certain good or service, or to act in certain ways, not just to refrain from interference.

Question 19

While the Affordable Care Act aimed at providing solutions to the problems of lack of health insurance coverage among millions of Americans and the seemingly unstoppable rise in health care costs, Obamacare was intended to fix minor problems in health care.

Accepted Answer

The Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are the same thing; both terms refer to the comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010, aimed at providing more Americans with access to affordable health insurance, improving the quality of health care and health insurance, and reducing health care spending in the U.S.

Question 20

The debate over delivering health care is primarily about the morality of individual actions and decisions.

Accepted Answer

The debate over delivering health care encompasses broader issues such as access, affordability, quality, and the role of government, rather than focusing solely on the morality of individual actions and decisions.

Quiz 11: Delivering Health Care

The idea behind ________ is that in any society, morality demands that people receive what they are due (what is fair) .