Question 1

One of the key contributions health economists make to any debate on medical care decisions is to force the questions which make clear the perspectives of each party involved: patient, provider, or payer.

Accepted Answer

Health economists play a crucial role in medical care decisions by highlighting the different perspectives and priorities of each party involved (patients, providers, payers), ensuring that all viewpoints are considered in the decision-making process.

Question 2

Health economists view all incentives as monetary in tracing the money trail in a medical decision.

Accepted Answer

Not all incentives are monetary, but most can be valued in monetary terms by observing behaviors and incentives.

Question 3

Economists explain the continuous increases in health expenditures in the U.S. as primarily a function of the high costs of medical interventions.

Accepted Answer

Many other factors play a significant role too, including increased preferences for spending a larger share of income on health.

Question 4

Dynamic efficiency means that some short term allocative efficiency must be traded off to give time for managers, physicians, and other employees to create technological improvements that might only be allocatively efficient many years in the future.

Accepted Answer

Dynamic efficiency involves the optimal allocation of resources over time, allowing for investments in innovation and improvements that may reduce short-term allocative efficiency but lead to greater benefits and efficiencies in the long term.

Question 5

If the incremental cost of a $40,000 medical treatment results in an expected gain of 12 years of life, then the treatment is economically efficient.

Accepted Answer

The cost is $40,000/12 years = $3,333 per expected life year gained. This is well within the general assumptions about the value of a year of life, in the range of $75,000 to $375,000.

Question 6

Path dependence is the sociologist's way of saying that it is unlikely that the changes to the U.S. system will be made which totally do away with providers already in the system. For example, it is unlikely that private physician practices will be done away with in favor of a more efficient system where physicians give up their ownership to government or hospital offered employment.

Accepted Answer

Path dependence means where we are depends upon where we came from.

Question 7

Economics is the science which studies how scarce resources are allocated among unlimited needs and wants. In health economics, the term "allocation" can be restated as "distribution": the distribution of resources, the distribution of health, the distribution of medical care, and the distribution of provider incomes.

Accepted Answer

In health economics, the term "allocation" indeed refers to how resources are distributed among various needs and sectors, including the distribution of resources, health outcomes, medical care, and incomes of healthcare providers. This reflects the broader economic principle of allocating scarce resources to meet unlimited wants and needs, applied specifically to the healthcare sector.

Question 8

Physician office management solutions to reducing the escalating growth rates of health expenditures and improving patient satisfaction include MSAs, medical homes and concierge practices.

Accepted Answer

MSAs are not an office management technique.

Question 9

Rising costs and declining consumer satisfaction are among the key factors that may lead us to define the system as broken.

Accepted Answer

Rising costs and declining consumer satisfaction indicate systemic issues, suggesting that the system is not functioning effectively and could be considered broken.

Question 10

Marginal productivity (gain in average life expectancy) of an additional dollar spent on medical care is much higher today than it was a century ago.

Accepted Answer

The marginal productivity of an additional dollar spent on medical care is generally considered to be lower today than it was a century ago because the most significant and cost-effective health improvements (such as vaccinations, antibiotics, and basic public health measures) were made in the past, and current spending often targets more complex, less universally effective treatments.

Question 11

Administrative costs in the US healthcare sector tend to be lower than in other developed countries due to a higher degree of competition in healthcare markets.

Accepted Answer

Administrative costs in the US healthcare sector are actually higher than in other developed countries, largely due to the complexity of the healthcare system, including billing processes and the management of multiple health insurance providers.

Question 12

The role of the physician in the 21^st century compared with her role in the early and mid 20^th century will be a switch from expert and sole decision maker to that of team leader.

Accepted Answer

In the 21st century, the role of the physician has evolved from being the sole expert and decision-maker to a more collaborative approach, where they act as team leaders working alongside other healthcare professionals to provide patient care. This shift reflects the increasing complexity of healthcare, the need for specialized knowledge across different areas, and the emphasis on patient-centered care.

Question 13

Reducing healthcare spending in the U.S. by 20% is likely to result in a

Accepted Answer

Healthcare spending does not directly correlate with life expectancy, as many factors contribute to life expectancy. Reducing spending may not significantly impact life expectancy if efficiency and preventive measures are improved.

Question 14

Common reference values for a year of life worth are usually in the range between ____________________ per additional year.

Accepted Answer

Common reference values for a year of life worth are typically in the range of $75,000 to $375,000 per additional year. This range is often used in health economics to assess the cost-effectiveness of medical interventions.

Question 15

According to the 2001 study by Cutler and McClellan, what kind of treatment is likely to cost more than it is really worth?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the 2001 study by Cutler...

Question 16

Which of the following is not an example of inefficiencies in the US medical sector caused by the system's slow response to technological and organizational changes in the rest of the economy since the 1970s?

Accepted Answer

The inability of the medical sector to go through the "creative destruction" cycles relatively smoothly is not an example of inefficiencies in the US medical sector caused by the system's slow response to technological and organizational changes in the rest of the economy since the 1970s.

Question 17

Some of the important and long-standing institutions of the American healthcare system, that are not likely to disappear in the near future as a result of reforms, include all of the following except

Accepted Answer

FSA (Flexible Spending Accounts) contributions are more subject to change with healthcare reforms compared to the other options listed, which are foundational elements of the American healthcare system.

Question 18

What seems to be Dr. Getzen's overall conclusion about the likelihood of implementing efficiency-boosting reforms in the healthcare sector in the nearest future?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Getzen suggests that the specific perceptions Americans hold regarding the tradeoffs between quality, cost, and access in healthcare are significant barriers to the approval of radical changes in the system.

Question 19

When projecting future US healthcare spending as a share of GDP into the long-run, it is likely that

Accepted Answer

The answer of When projecting future US healthcare spending as...

Question 20

Discuss the long term trend in income and average health expenditures in the U.S. which led to the distributional crisis in health care costs beginning in the 1950s.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the long term trend in income...

Quiz 18: Value for Money in the Future of Health Care