Why is health care spending in the United States so much greater than in other high-income countries?Explain

Topic: Competitive Market Structure

Paper details:

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 7, 8

Lesson

Minimum of 2 scholarly sources (other than the textbook and article noted in the instructions/references)

Instructions

For the assignment, address the following:

List and briefly explain the features of a perfectly competitive market structure.

How do firms in a perfectly competitive market determine price and profit-maximizing output levels?

According to Papanicolas, Woskie, and Jha (2018), the main drivers of the cost of healthcare in the U.S are “labor and goods, including pharmaceuticals and devices, and administrative costs” (Key Points section, para. 2).

This (labor and goods as drivers of cost) occurs in higher education and in the arts as well. Imagine that you are the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a large medical facility, a higher education institution, or an arts organization (select one to frame your response).

What cost-cutting measures would you propose to address the excessive cost of operating the facility while maintaining the quality of services?
Click on the link to read an excerpt from the article:

Link: Excerpt from Papanicolas, Woskie, and Jha (2018)

Question: Why is health care spending in the United States so much greater than in other high-income countries?

Findings: In 2016, the United States spent nearly twice as much as 10 high-income countries on medical care and performed less well on many population health outcomes.

Contrary to some explanations for high spending, social spending and health care utilization in the United States did not differ substantially from other high-income nations. Prices of labor and goods, including pharmaceuticals and devices, and administrative costs appeared to be the main drivers of the differences in spending.

Meaning: Efforts targeting utilization alone are unlikely to reduce the growth in health care spending in the United States; a more concerted effort to reduce prices and administrative costs is likely needed. (Key Points section, para. 1-3)

Writing Requirements (APA format)

Length: 2-4 pages (not including title page or references page)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page (minimum of 2 sources)

Reference

Papanicolas, I., Woskie, L. R., & Jha, A. K. (2018, March 13). Health care spending in the United States and other high-income countries. Journal of American Medical Association, 319(10): 1024-1039.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2674671?redirect=true

https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-2e/pages/1-introduction

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