Deck 8: Health Care Policy

Question 1

What are some examples of preventative health care?

A) aggressive, long-term treatment of diseases and frequent doctor visits
B) regular physical examinations, diet and exercise, and health education
C) genetic modification and decentralizing health care to the states
D) centralizing medical knowledge to encourage more doctor visits and shifting a focus to treating symptoms of diseases rather than causes

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Part ______ of Medicare covers physician charges, diagnostic tests, and other charges than hospital stays.

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the United States, what are the leading causes of death?

A) diseases that are due to unhealthy lifestyles (such as, heart disease and cancer)
B) infant mortality which is higher in the United States than in many other developed countries
C) deaths due to accidents
D) influenza and pneumonia due to the growing numbers of elderly persons in our population

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Currently, the United States uses which approach to pay for health care for its citizens?

A) national health insurance system
B) private-pay system; insurance is completely paid for by private individuals and corporations
C) hybrid system of public and private funding for care
D) universal payment system

Question 5

In a national health insurance system, ______ is/are generally responsible for paying the cost of health care.

A) the national government
B) employers
C) private insurance companies
D) the individual patient

Question 6

What did many state Republican governors and legislators do concerning the creation of state health-care exchanges?

A) They embraced the idea, lauding the ability of individual states to tailor the exchanges to their own needs.
B) They refused to set up state exchanges as a way of showing discontent with the federal law.
C) Although they were reluctant, they eventually set up the exchanges once the Supreme Court ordered them to.
D) They defied the federal law by not setting up exchanges, and many court cases are now pending.

Question 7

The ______ program, established in 1965 and funded jointly by states and the federal government, provides health-care coverage for poor adults and children.

A) Obamacare
B) Medicare
C) SCHIP
D) Medicaid

Question 8

By 2016, how many people had signed up for health insurance through exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act?

A) more than 12 million
B) about 1 million
C) none
D) just less than 25 million

Question 9

Overall, the two broad problems that the U.S. health-care system faces overall right now are ______.

A) inadequate funding for prescription drugs and cost of Children's Health Care (SCHIP)
B) poor access to health care and insufficient funding for medical research
C) growing costs and poor access to health-care services
D) Medicare and Medicaid program inefficiencies and cost

Question 10

Which statement is true regarding medical errors in the United States?

A) Medical errors lead to a significant number of deaths each year; many are preventable.
B) Medical errors previously had been a major concern, but effective government policies have reduced the number substantially.
C) Most medical errors occur in the older adult population.
D) Recent efforts by hospitals to reduce errors have shown dramatically positive results.

Question 11

The Health Security Act of 1993 was ______.

A) president Clinton's plan for universal health-care coverage
B) health portability reform
C) a program that expanded children's coverage
D) Medicare's most significant reform

Question 12

Which statement is true about a single-payer health-care system?

A) The government is the only major payer for health care.
B) It is often characterized by elective coverage.
C) The administrative costs of this system are much higher than those of multiple-payer systems (like the United States) because there is only one major payer that all providers deal with for basic health-care services.
D) Only women, children, and the elderly are eligible.

Question 13

It could be said of U.S. health care that ______.

A) it is an equitable system with regard to who has access to regular, basic health-care services
B) it is the most effective system in the world with regard to the overall health outcomes of the U.S. population
C) the expectations are reasonable given the vast amounts of money invested by the government, insurance companies, and individuals
D) all of these

Question 14

In recent years, health-care spending has grown at what percent per year?

A) 10%
B) 7%
C) 4%
D) 2%

Question 15

What do federal agents say is a major part of Medicare fraud?

A) Mistakes made by users who do not understand complex features of the program.
B) The complex billing process required by law.
C) Health-care providers are putting services into a higher paying category in order to increase profits.
D) Loopholes in the original law that users are taking advantage of.

Question 16

In the United States, health care is viewed as a ______, in contrast to many other developed countries, which consider health care to be a right.

A) public good
B) merit good
C) pooled benefit
D) hybrid good

Question 17

In 2016, the number of uninsured Americans was ______.

A) 15 million
B) 20 million
C) 25 million
D) 27 million

Question 18

The Veterans Health System faces concerns related to ______.

A) poor quality of medical care and growing numbers of veterans needing care
B) rising costs of preventive care and poor quality of medical care
C) cost increases and reduced profitability
D) increased access to care among veterans and reduced costs

Question 19

What did Medicare Part D seek to address?

A) the rising number of uninsured
B) the rising cost of health care
C) the reduced demand for health care
D) the rising costs of prescription drugs

Question 20

Which government program provides medical insurance for the elderly as an entitlement?

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

Question 21

______ provide(s) health care by forming networks of physicians, hospitals, and other health-care providers; they supposedly control costs by monitoring and regulating the care patients can receive.

A) State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs)
B) Managed-care organizations or preferred providers
C) Insurance exchange organizations
D) Boutique health care

Question 22

Some argue that a policy decision to invest in preventative care should be evaluated on the criterion of equity, since ______.

A) it is inequitable to spend so much more money to treat diseases for those with unhealthy lifestyles in comparison to little spending on those with healthy lifestyles
B) the cost-benefit of preventing disease is so much stronger
C) the efficiency of providing preventive care is not well established
D) most believe that the U.S. health-care system is one of the most equitable in the world

Question 23

What is national health insurance also known as?

Question 24

In the United States, the patient or an insurance company pays for the medical service rendered. This is called ______.

A) Medicare
B) boutique health care
C) Medicaid
D) fee-for-service health care

Question 25

What is a merit good?

Question 26

Provide an example of Medicare fraud.

Question 27

Which statement is true about the Affordable Care Act?

A) As of September 2014, all lawsuits against it have been resolved and no more court cases are pending.
B) It is the second major overhaul of the U.S. health-care system since the Clinton plan did so in 1993.
C) It creates a single-payer system in the United States (a government takeover).
D) States have a great deal of discretion in what they choose to do under the act.

Question 28

The Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Reform Act passed in ______.

A) 1996
B) 1998
C) 2000
D) 2002

Question 29

Identify one public health agency.

Question 30

Which statement describes health-care spending over the past 20 years?

A) Total spending is increasing, but per-capita spending is actually down.
B) Total spending, per-capita spending, and percentage of GDP spent on health care are all increasing.
C) Total, per-capita, and percentage of GDP on health care have declined.
D) Spending on health care in the United States is remaining fairly constant.

Question 31

One of the most promising ways to reduce health-care costs may be to ______.

A) emphasize preventive health care
B) set up pilot tests in states
C) expand Medicaid
D) pay physicians and hospitals using fees for services instead of the current system, salaries.

Question 32

What strategies can help reduce health-care costs?

Question 33

A centerpiece of Obama's reform plan that is popular with the general public is ______.

A) the individual mandate
B) pilot tests and demonstration projects
C) insurance reform to remove preexisting-condition exclusions
D) expanded coverage for Medicaid populations

Question 34

Medicare expenditures alone totaled about ______ billion in 2017.

A) 500
B) 600
C) 620
D) 702

Question 35

Why did Congress expand TriCare to cover Medicare gaps but not apply increased coverage to elderly Americans not in the military?

A) Congress felt it was necessary in order to address the issue of increased numbers of wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
B) The increased coverage of TriCare was just a pilot program in preparation for a larger, national increase.
C) Congress actually did expand Medicare coverage for all Americans while also expanding TriCare.
D) It was a politically attractive move in an election year, and a national increase in coverage was deemed too costly.

Question 36

Most of the innovations in health-care policy have been produced at what level of government?

A) federal
B) state
C) county
D) municipal

Question 37

What has the transition in the United States from fee-for-service approaches to health care to managed care accomplished?

A) It has held down medical costs and increased preventative care.
B) It has reduced demand.
C) It has insured most Americans.
D) It has increased the quality of medical services and expanded access.

Question 38

What is the purpose of public health agencies?

Question 39

What feature makes the U.S. health-care system distinct from those of most other countries?

A) universal coverage that our citizens enjoy
B) the significant involvement of many for-profit companies and providers of care
C) the greater focus on preventive care
D) the more extensive government involvement

Question 40

The percentage of nonelderly Americans without health-care insurance dropped to ______.

A) 19.8 million
B) 23.1 million
C) 26.3 million
D) 27.0 million

Question 41

Why is repealing the Affordable Care Act not feasible?

Question 42

What does the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) do?

Question 43

Explain the evolution of health-care policy between the mid-1960s until recently.

Question 44

What is Medicare intended to do?

Question 45

Explore the areas in which the United States ranks poorly.

Question 46

Identify and discuss the Medicare program provisions.

Question 47

How can the increasing cost of health care be contained? Discuss the strategies discussed in Chapter 8 and weigh them against the criteria of effectiveness, cost, and equity.

Question 48

When did the federal Medicare program begin?

Question 49

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

Question 50

Who is covered by TriCare health plans?

Question 51

What is the best-known type of managed care organization and what is their purpose?

Question 52

Explain Veterans' Health Care. What is it intended to do and is easy receive service?

Question 53

In theory, how does the use of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) help to control health-care costs?

Question 54

Why did President Clinton's Health Security Act of 1993 fail?

Question 55

What are some of the provisions for Medicaid?

Question 56

Briefly explain why the United States has a health-care system that is considered pluralistic.

Question 57

What does portability mean?

Question 58

Historically speaking, what has been one of the most common complaints about managed health-care systems?

Question 59

Should the government require a greater emphasis on preventative health care? Provide an argument for such a plan. Then provide an argument opponents of the plan might use. Examine the economic, political, and ethical/equity issues associated with the issue.

Question 60

Explain fee-for-service.

Question 61

Describe two examples of state policy innovations in health care. What were the policies and what did they set out to achieve? Were they successful? What approach to health care did these policies take? Did they serve as examples for later federal policy?