Deck 17: Policymaking for Health Care, the Environment, and Energy

Question 1

Which of the following best reflects the Republican reaction to the Affordable Care Act?

A)Republicans have called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
B)Republicans have called for modest improvements to the Affordable Care Act.
C)Republicans have been trying to replace the Affordable Care Act with a single-payer system.
D)Republicans were initially against the Affordable Care Act but now support it.

Answer 1

Republicans have called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Question 2

Which of the following pieces of legislation first required agencies to file environmental impact statements?

A)the National Environmental Policy Act
B)the Clean Water Act
C)the Clean Air Act
D)the Superfund Act

Answer 2

the National Environmental Policy Act

Question 3

One of the primary obstacles to balancing the federal budget is __________.

A)health care costs
B)environmental policies
C)education expenses
D)monetary policies

Answer 3

health care costs

Question 4

How much do Americans spend on health care each year?

A)$3 million
B)$30 million
C)$3 billion
D)$3 trillion

Question 5

Of the following countries,which has the lowest infant mortality rate and the highest life expectancy?

A)the United States
B)France
C)Canada
D)Japan

Question 6

Which of the following pieces of legislation is credited with dramatically increasing the water quality in U.S.lakes and rivers?

A)Toxic Waste Reduction Act
B)Endangered Aquatic Species Act
C)Water Chemical Reduction Act
D)Water Pollution Control Act

Question 7

Which of the following is the largest federal independent regulatory agency?

A)the Food and Drug Administration
B)the Central Intelligence Agency
C)the Environmental Protection Agency
D)the Internal Revenue Service

Question 8

Medicaid is aimed at what group of people?

A)children
B)full-time workers
C)seniors
D)the poor

Question 9

Who was the first president to propose a national health insurance program to be run by the government?

A)Franklin Roosevelt
B)Bill Clinton
C)Harry Truman
D)Barack Obama

Question 10

How does life expectancy in the United States compare to other developed nations?

A)It is lower.
B)It is about the same.
C)It is slightly higher.
D)It is much higher.

Question 11

What proportion of Americans have private health insurance of some kind-either through an employer or purchased individually?

A)one-third
B)one-half
C)two-thirds
D)three-fourths

Question 12

Who typically qualifies for Medicare?

A)full-time workers
B)those 65 or older
C)the unemployed
D)the poor

Question 13

Which of the following was passed by Congress in 1965?

A)Affordable Care Act
B)Children's Health Insurance Program
C)Emergency Medical Treatment Act
D)Medicare

Question 14

Which of the following is a provision of the Affordable Care Act?

A)Insurance companies can only stop covering someone during the January open-enrollment period.
B)Young people must be allowed to remain on their parents' insurance until the age of 26.
C)All caps for out-of-pocket expenses must be eliminated by 2019.
D)Doctors can charge patients no more than $10 for preventive care like mammograms,flu shots,and diabetes tests.

Question 15

Which of the following is true of the Affordable Care Act?

A)It is a national government takeover of health care.
B)It provides universal coverage to all Americans.
C)It involves a single-payer health care system.
D)It requires all Americans to have health insurance.

Question 16

Which of the following is true of current health care policy in America?

A)The federal government provides health care to all citizens.
B)Americans are far healthier than Europeans.
C)Total health care spending in the United States is about 17 to 18 percent of GDP.
D)The Affordable Care Act created a single-payer health care system similar to that found in Canada.

Question 17

Medicare is a program that provides health care for __________.

A)the poor
B)the elderly
C)the unemployed
D)anyone who lacks health insurance

Question 18

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) targets which of the following groups?

A)Children whose families are currently enrolled in Medicare.
B)Children whose families cannot afford private insurance but cannot qualify for Medicaid.
C)Children whose families are currently enrolled in an HMO.
D)Children whose families do not make enough money to receive Medicaid.

Question 19

Which of the following situations is most likely to create an incentive for doctors to provide unnecessary procedures?

A)a fee-for-service health insurance policy
B)free market health care
C)a single-payer system
D)a health maintenance organization

Question 20

The most expensive single category of health care spending for the federal government is __________.

A)Medicare
B)Medicaid
C)CHIPS
D)HMOs

Question 21

How does the health care system in the United States compare to other democracies?

A)The United States has a more expensive health care system than other democracies.
B)The United States has an entirely privatized health care system,while other democracies have entirely public health care systems.
C)The United States has a less expensive health care system than other democracies.
D)The United States has a very similar health care system to many other democracies.

Question 22

What is America's most abundant fuel?

A)kerosene
B)petroleum
C)coal
D)natural gas

Question 23

Which of the following complaints is most directly addressed by the Affordable Care Act?

A)Medicare leaves too many health care expenses for the elderly to pay out of their own pockets.
B)Only a single-payer system can bring about significant health care savings.
C)There are too many uninsured Americans.
D)Employer-sponsored health insurance unnecessarily restricts my choice of doctors.

Question 24

In which era did health insurance become linked to employment?

A)Progressive Era
B)World War I
C)New Deal
D)World War II

Question 25

Of the following examples,who is the least likely to have health insurance in the United States?

A)children
B)the poor
C)the elderly
D)young adults

Question 26

Which of the following best articulates a disadvantage of U.S.dependence on foreign oil?

A)The need for oil is expected to decline during the next two decades,threating trade relations with other nations.
B)Foreign oil is of a lower quality than domestic oil.
C)Using foreign oil results in increased pollution in the United States due to the possibility of oil spills.
D)The United States is at the mercy of other nations with which we might not always have a good relationship.

Question 27

Which of the following helps to explain why the United States relies more heavily on expensive,high-tech medical treatments as compared to the United Kingdom?

A)Americans spend more time in the hospital.
B)The United States has more advanced medical technology.
C)The United States has a single-payer health care system.
D)U.S.health care costs are paid from a mixture of sources,leaving no single source primarily responsible for controlling health care costs.

Question 28

In recent years,how has the government limited Medicare costs?

A)raising the eligibility age
B)requiring patients to obtain a supplemental private plan
C)capping the total expenditures per patient
D)reducing the fees it pays to doctors and hospitals

Question 29

What is the Superfund?

A)a congressional fund to reduce carbon emissions
B)a congressional fund to study global warming
C)a congressional fund to improve air quality
D)a congressional fund to clean up hazardous waste sites

Question 30

Which of the following statements about health care in the United States compared with other industrialized nations is accurate?

A)The United States has lower health care costs because its people are healthier.
B)Other industrialized nations have lower health care costs and better health.
C)Other industrialized nations have higher health care costs because doctors are paid more.
D)The United States has the highest health care costs because we have the most advanced universal health care system in the world.

Question 31

Which of the following is true of how the U.S.government handles ensuring health care to the poor and the elderly?

A)Medicare provides health care to the poor,and Medicaid provides health care to the elderly.
B)Medicare provides health care to the elderly,and Medicaid provides health care to the poor.
C)Medicare replaced Medicaid in order to provide health care to poor people as well as the elderly.
D)Medicaid replaced Medicare in order to provide health care to poor people as well as the elderly.

Question 32

NIMBY usually applies to which of the following policy areas?

A)health care for the poor
B)health care for the elderly
C)health care for children
D)the environment

Question 33

What argument is most often given by opponents of strong air and water pollution controls?

A)They ignore wildlife conservation issues.
B)They make it hard for private entities to create stricter standards.
C)They fall disproportionately on the poor.
D)They could reduce economic growth.

Question 34

Which of the following techniques is used to release and capture petroleum and natural gas from the underground rock layer?

A)fission technology
B)hydro fusion
C)geothermal fusion
D)hydraulic fracturing

Question 35

Which was the last of the following federal programs to be adopted?

A)The Affordable Care Act
B)Medicare
C)Medicaid
D)CHIPs

Question 36

Which of the following is an argument for why regulations designed to protect manatees should be relaxed?

A)The manatee has been on the endangered species list for a long time.
B)The manatee population has been increasing.
C)Manatees have no natural predators.
D)Manatees are often injured by boat propellers.

Question 37

What is one reason that health care policy in the United States tends to favor the elderly?

A)American political culture places a heavy emphasis on respecting your elders.
B)The AARP is a powerful lobby.
C)A majority of Congress is elderly.
D)The elderly have greater financial resources to use to influence public policy.

Question 38

What is the most rapidly increasing component of the federal budget?

A)Medicare
B)Medicaid
C)Social Security
D)climate change mitigation

Question 39

What is an environmental impact statement?

A)A statement prepared by federal agencies detailing the potential environmental impact of a policy proposed by the government.
B)An analysis of how a private entity has negatively impacted the environment.
C)A statement prepared by Congress detailing the potential environmental impact of proposed legislation.
D)A notice of concern sent to all individuals and businesses located close to a Superfund site.

Question 40

What is the name for networks of health care providers that directly provide all or most of a person's health care for a yearly fee?

A)health maintenance organizations
B)hospital networks
C)alliances of health
D)fee-for-service networks

Question 41

Which of the following is one of the reasons why universal health care was not adopted in the United States when it was first proposed more than 60 years ago?

A)Liberals wanted insurance provided by private companies only.
B)The American Medical Association opposed what it derided as "socialized medicine."
C)Congress was only interested in passing legislation that benefited them personally,and members of Congress already had health care.
D)Americans who lacked health insurance were afraid that private employers would no longer provide coverage.

Question 42

Medicaid covers the majority of which of the following groups?

A)nursing home residents
B)women giving birth
C)people with severe disabilities
D)senior citizens

Question 43

Which of the following is a provision of the Affordable Care Act?

A)Citizens who cannot afford to buy health insurance are exempt from the individual mandate.
B)All employers must provide health insurance for employees who work at least 30 hours a week.
C)The creation of a government-run health care program for all Americans who do not have private insurance.
D)Health insurance companies are prohibited from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions.

Question 44

Which of the following best describes how cap-and-trade is a market-based solution for dealing with carbon dioxide emissions?

A)The market has reduced carbon dioxide emissions without government intervention because companies have self-regulated to remain competitive.
B)The states have reduced carbon dioxide emissions because the federal government has been unwilling to do so.
C)Companies that pollute have spent significant money lobbying Congress to grant them exemptions from environmental regulations.
D)It allows those who reduce emissions to sell credits to those who do not meet environmental standards.

Question 45

Which of the following is an argument in favor of having national health insurance in the United States?

A)Patients would have more individual control over their health care.
B)All Americans would have access to health care.
C)A national insurance program would promote fair competition among private insurers.
D)A national insurance program would replace the unpopular Medicare and Medicaid programs.