Addressing Overall Expenditures in the U.S. Health Care Industry

Consider whether, in your view, the overall costs associated with health care are too high. On what grounds do you base your conclusion?

Select one of the following submarkets of health care:
Physician services
Nursing services
Medical technician services
Physical facilities (e.g., hospitals, specialized, imaging, long-term care)
Medical technology
Pharmaceuticals

Questions

· Briefly summarize your views on whether the total expenditures for health care in the United States are too high. Provide your rationale, including the criteria you are using for your assessment.

· Propose one specific approach to help contain costs in some way. How would supply and demand be affected? Explain how this shift could be brought about.

· Describe the benefits of this approach. How much do you think this approach would lower market price? Could the outcomes differ in the short term and long term?

· Assess potential unintended consequences of this cost-containment effort.

· All in all, do you think this is a feasible approach for reducing overall costs? Why or why not? Provide the rationale for your response.