Deck 3: The Rising Costs of Medical Services and Healthcare Reform

Question 1

Some parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will not go into effect until 2018.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 that all persons purchase healthcare may be deemed unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. If that happens, the entire Act may be overturned because ____.

A) the Supreme Court never overturns part of an Act.
B) the PPACA lacks a severability clause
C) the PPACA cannot function if some people lack healthcare insurance
D) Democrats no longer have a majority in the House of Representatives

Answer 2

the PPACA lacks a severability clause

Question 3

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will add a new funding source in 2018. That source is ____.

A) new excise taxes on tobacco products
B) new excise taxes on alcoholic beverages
C) an excise tax on the healthcare plans with most benefits
D) a new excise tax on fast food restaurants

Answer 3

an excise tax on the healthcare plans with most benefits

Question 4

Healthcare insurance premiums increased significantly shortly after passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). A part of the increased premiums was due to ____.

A) a new fee on healthcare insurance companies
B) increased demand for private healthcare insurance
C) no deductibles or co-payments for preventive care services
D) a 20% increase in prescription drug prices

Question 5

Which factor is most responsible for causing rapid rises in the salaries of healthcare professionals?

A) A 2% increase in the cost of living
B) Increased educational requirements for the profession
C) Increased training requirements for the profession
D) A shortage of qualified professionals

Question 6

What is the most likely reason why Medicare advisors would approve the use of a $93,000 prostate cancer therapy that extends life for an average of four months?

A) A year of life is valued at $400,000.
B) Heavy lobbying by the drug company would influence the decision.
C) For some patients, the therapy has been shown to extend life by two years.
D) The therapy's cost is expected to fall to less than $10,000.

Question 7

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 plans to lower medical costs through the use of ____.

A) Accountable Care Organizations
B) rationing of treatments based on cost and effectiveness
C) annual decreases in reimbursements for healthcare services
D) financial incentives to individuals who adopt healthier lifestyles

Question 8

Which healthcare insurance company action will result in the biggest cost savings?

A) Raising co-payments for name brand drugs
B) Asking beneficiaries to request generic drugs
C) Requiring participating physicians to allow substitutions for name brand drugs
D) Requiring insurance company approval for name brand drug prescriptions

Question 9

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, by 2014, uninsured persons will receive insurance from ____.

A) Medicaid
B) state-run healthcare exchanges
C) a high-risk insurance pool
D) TRICARE

Question 10

The legal basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit is ____.

A) a poor outcome
B) injury due to a wrongful act
C) patient or family dislike of the clinician
D) compensation for lost wages while ill

Question 11

Healthcare spending in American has risen faster than the cost of living index for decades.

Question 12

The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program detects approximately three-fourths of the fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Question 13

The Oregon Health Plan ranked treatments based on cost and effectiveness. What determines which treatments receive funding in each two-year budget?

A) available funds
B) treatments ranked in top 90%
C) treatments ranked in top 80%
D) treatments ranked in top 70%

Question 14

Healthcare expenditures by Americans were approximately ____ trillion dollars in 2009.

A) 1.2
B) 2.0
C) 2.5
D) 3.0

Question 15

New medical diagnostic technologies and new therapies tend to reduce healthcare costs.

Question 16

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 eliminated the "donut hole" in prescription drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.

Question 17

Which of the following is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 that went into effect that year?

A) Insurers must cover dependent adult children until age 26.
B) Indoor tanning salons pay a 10% tax.
C) All Americans are required to have healthcare insurance.
D) A 40% excise tax is taken on prescription drugs.

Question 18

A jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital determines that the patient is responsible for two-thirds of the injury and the hospital is responsible for one-third. The jury determined that the compensation for the injury will be $900,000. The hospital had to pay the entire amount. This is due to ____.

A) punitive damages
B) joint and several liability
C) the statute of limitations
D) clerical error

Question 19

Many healthcare insurance companies offer incentives for covered persons to improve their health by exercising, not using tobacco products, and losing weight. When such incentives work, the insurance companies' costs should go ____ and future Medicare costs should go _____ due to increased longevity.

A) down; down
B) down; up
C) up; down
D) up; up

Question 20

What is the most likely reason that some individuals in Massachusetts pay the fine of approximately $1,000 each year for not having an approved healthcare insurance policy?

A) They cannot get insurance due to pre-existing conditions.
B) They misunderstand the law.
C) They underestimate the cost-effectiveness of healthcare insurance.
D) They do not expect to need healthcare, and the fine is less than the premiums

Question 21

A civil legal action arising from a wrongful act that results in damage to a person or to his reputation or property is called a(n) ____________________.

Question 22

The Clinton Healthcare Plan of 1993 received almost no support from congressional Republicans and only partial support from congressional Democrats. Give reasons for the lack of support.

Question 23

What are the economic justifications for specialist physicians receiving high fees for services?

Question 24

From 1930 to 2008, the life expectancy of Americans increased by approximately ____ years.

A) 8
B) 13
C) 18
D) 23

Question 25

In most medical malpractice lawsuits, the plaintiff's attorney fees are ____.

A) paid in advance by the plaintiff
B) determined by the judge
C) a percentage of the settlement
D) based on billable hours

Question 26

Proponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 claim that the federal government has the authority to force individuals to purchase healthcare insurance based on the ____________________ (Article 1,

Question 27

People born in the United States from 1946 through 1964 are called ____________________.

Question 28

A unique feature of the Oregon Health Plan is a(n) ____________________.

Question 29

Which program provides federal funds for the automation of electronic medical records?

A) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
B) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act
C) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
D) Recovery Audit Contractor Program

Question 30

Under the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law of 2006, families earning less than ____ of the federal poverty level receive fully subsidized healthcare insurance.

A) 75%
B) 100%
C) 150%
D) 200%

Question 31

Most of the funding for the PPACA will come from fees levied on pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies. What will be the economic effects of such fees?

Question 32

What aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is being appealed by 26 states?

A) The individual mandate
B) The federal interference with state insurance regulations
C) The expansion of the Medicaid program
D) The requirement to create healthcare exchanges

Question 33

Proponents of government-run or government-funded healthcare for all residents call such a system ____________________.

Question 34

Explain why widespread use of high deductible healthcare insurance plans would probably reduce the costs of routine outpatient services.

Question 35

Why will Medicare costs rise over the next two decades even if cost control efforts prevent an increase in the average cost per Medicare beneficiary per year?