JamesLW.LHenderson.
1 OpportunityLcostLisLaLmeasureLof
a. foregoneLopportunities.
b. valueLbasedLonLtheLalternativeLnotLchosen.
c. valueLinLtermsLofLtheLcostLofLproduction.
d. theLdifferenceLbetweenLproductionLcostLandLresourceLcost.
e. bothLaLandLb.
2. TheLopportunityLcostLofLinvestingLinLaLnewLlithotripterL(aLmachineLthatLpulverizesLkidneyLston
esLwithLsoundLwaves)Lis
a. definedLbyLtheLdollarLcostLofLtheLequipment.
b. theLsameLforLeveryLhealthLcareLprovider.
c. measuredLbyLtheLdifferenceLbetweenLtheLexpectedLrevenuesLfromLsellingLtheLservic
esLofLtheLlithotripterLandLtheLinvoiceLcostLofLtheLmachine.
d. definedLbyLtheLnextLbestLuseLofLtheLmoneyLinvestedLinLtheLequipment.
e. impossibleLtoLcalculate.
3. TheL“invisibleLhand”LusingLAdamLSmith’sLterminologyLrefersLto
a. governmentLcontrolLofLtheLmarket.
b. marketLforcesLworkingLthroughLtheLpriceLmechanism.
c. theLmoneyLsupplyLthatLservesLtoLkeepLtheLeconomyLworkingLsmoothly.
d. theLroleLofLinnovationLinLmaintainingLaLsteadyLrateLofLgrowth.
e. “behind-the-
scenes”L policyL makingL toL influenceL howL marketsL allocateL scarceLresources.
4. AccordingLtoLrecentLpublicLopinionLpolls,LwhatLpercentageLofLAmericansLareLsatisfiedLwithLth
eLqualityLofLtheLmedicalLcareLtheyLreceive?
a. 15Lpercent.
b. 40Lpercent.
c. 65Lpercent.
d. 70Lpercent.
e. 90Lpercent.
,5. ChargingLhigherLpricesLforLoneLcategoryLofLpatientsLinLorderLtoLprovideLfreeLorLsubsidizedLca
reLtoLanotherLgroupLisLcalled
a. priceLdiscrimination.
b. cost-shifting.
c. categoricalLcosting.
d. reprehensibleLandLunethical.
e. creativeLaccounting.
6. AccordingLtoLeconomicLtheoryLwhatLisLtheLoptimalLpercentageLofLGDPLtoLbeLspentLonLmedic
alLcare?
a. 6Lpercent.
b. 8Lpercent.
c. 10Lpercent.
d. 12Lpercent.
e. ThereLisLnoLwidely-acceptedLwayLtoLdetermineLtheLoptimalLpercentage.
7. WhatLphraseLbestLdescribesLmedicalLcareLspendingLinLtheLUnitedLStatesLinL1998?
a. TotalLspendingLofLmoreLthanL$2LtrillionLrepresentsL17LpercentLofLGDPLandLapproximately
$8,000LperLcapita.
b. TotalLspendingLofLmoreLthanL$1LtrillionLrepresentsL14.8LpercentLofLGDPLandLalmostL$6,0
00LperLcapita.
c. TotalLspendingLofLlessLthanL$1LtrillionLrepresentsLlessLthanL13LpercentLofLGDPLandLalmost
$3,000LperLcapita.
d. TotalLspendingLisLrisingLatLdouble-
digitLratesLandLspendingLisLsoaringLtoLoverL$5,000LperLcapita.
e. TotalLspendingLisLunderLcontrolLandLrepresentsLaLshrinkingLpercentageLofLGDP.
8. TheL1974LfederalLlegislationLthatLexemptedLemployersLfromLcertainLstateLlawsLgoverningLheal
thLinsuranceLwas
a. COBRA
b. ERISA
c. CON
d. HIPAA
e. SCHIP
9. WhichLofLtheLfollowingLstatementsLisLbasedLonLpositiveLanalysis?
a. IndividualsL withoutL healthL insuranceL haveL lessL accessL toL physicians’L servicesL tha
nLthoseLwhoLhaveLhealthLinsurance.
b. TheLhighLcostLofLhealthLinsuranceLplacesLU.S.LfirmsLatLaLcompetitiveLdisadvantageLwit
hLtheirLforeignLcompetitors.
c. EmployersLshouldLbeLrequiredLtoLprovideLhealthLinsuranceLforLallLfull-
timeLworkersLandLtheirLdependents.
d. noneLofLtheLabove.
, e. BothLaLandLb.
10. EconomistsLuseLtheLtermL“marginal”LtoLdescribeLcostsLandLbenefits
a. thatLareLminimalLandLhardlyLworthLnoting.
b. thatLareLincrementalLandLthusLrelevantLtoLdecisionLmaking.
c. thatLareLnoteworthyLbutLnotLtheLmostLimportant.
d. whoseLimportanceLcanLbeLminimizedLthroughLhardLwork.
e. noneLofLtheLabove.
11. SelfLinsuranceLrefersLto:LtheLpracticeLofLsettingLasideLfundsLtoLpayLforLmedicalLcareLexpens
esLinsteadLofLpayingLpremiumsLtoLanLinsuranceLcompany.L Approximately,L
ofLallLemployeesLwhoLparticipateLinLgroupLinsuranceLplansLworkLforLfirmsLthatLself-insure.
a. startingLone’sLownLinsuranceLcompany
b. buyingLinsuranceLfromLaLnotLforLprofitLentity
c. settingLasideLfundLtoLpayLforLmedicalLcareLexpensesLinsteadLofLbuyingLinsurance
d. noneLofLthese
e. bothLaLandLb
12. WhichLofLtheLfollowingLisLnotLaLcharacteristicLthatLmakesLmedicalLcareLdifferentLfromLothe
rLcommodities?
a. DemandLforLmedicalLcareLisLirregular.
b. SellersLhaveLmoreLinformationLthanLbuyers.
c. Third-partyLpayersLabound.
d. For-profitLprovidersLplayLaLmajorLroleLinLdeliveringLmedicalLcare.
e. TheLtransactionLitselfLifLfilledLwithLuncertainty.
StructuredLDiscussion:
1. Resolved:LTheLUnitedLStatesLsystemLofLhealthLcareLdeliveryLisLinLaLstateLofLcrisis.
2. Resolved:L TheL recentL slowingL ofL healthL careL spendingL asL aL shareL ofL grossL domestic
productLwillLcontinue.L InLotherLwords,LtheLrelativeLsizeLofLtheLhealthLcareLsectorLhas
LreachedLaLnaturalLlimit.
AppendixL1A:LTheLMedicalLCareLPriceLIndex
ThisLappendixLdemonstratesLtheLuseLofLpriceLindexesLtoLmeasureLpriceLchanges.L CautionLisLad
visedLinLinterpretingLchangesLinLfixed-
weightLindexes,LsuchLasLtheLConsumerLPriceLIndexL(CPI)LandLtheLMedicalLCareLPriceLIndexL(MC
PI),LasLaLmeasureLofLinflation.L ProblemsLinLusingLtheLMCPI
, toLmeasureLmedicalLinflationLareLdiscussed,LincludingLwhatLtoLmeasure,LhowLtoLaccountLforLquali
tyLimprovements,LandLhowLtoLincorporateLnewLproductsLintoLtheLindex.
AppendixLObjectives
1. SummarizeLtheLissuesLinvolvedLinLmeasuringLpriceLchangesLwithLpriceLindexes.
2. DescribeLtheLuseLofLtheLmedicalLcareLpriceLindexLinLmeasuringLchangesLinLmedicalLca
reLprices.
3. SpecifyLalternativesLforLmeasuringLpriceLchanges.
AppendixLOutline
a. MeasuringLpriceLchangesLwithLindexLnumbers
b. MedicalLcareLpriceLindex
c. ProblemsLwithLusingLaLfixed-weightLindexLasLaLmeasureLofLinflation
d. MeasuringLinputsLinsteadLofLoutcomes
e. MeasuringLqualityLchanges
f. AccountingLforLnewLproducts
g. OtherLproblems
h. AlternativeLmethodsLtoLmeasureLmedicalLcareLinflation
i. SummaryLandLconclusions
ChapterL2:LUsingLEconomicsLtoLStudyLHealthLCareLIssues
ThisLchapterLintroducesLtheLbasicLeconomicsLmodelLofLsupplyLandLdemandLandLexaminesLitsLus
eLinLtheLstudyLofLhealthLcareLissues.L ALdiscussionLofLtheLprinciplesLofLoptimizingLbehaviorLsetsL
theLstageLforLtheLdevelopmentLofLtheLmodelLofLdemandLandLsupply.L ALdiscussionLofLtheLtheoryL
ofLtheLfirmLfollows,LcontrastingLperfectLandLimperfectLcompetition.L Supply-LandLdemand-
sideLimperfectionsLareLalsoLdiscussed.
ChapterLOutline
a. TheLrelevanceLofLeconomicsLinLhealthLcare