Instructions

Assessment #1: (15%)

As you learned in Week 1, health care spending is growing faster than overall growth in the economy (as measured by GDP) and by 2026 is expected to consume 20 percent of GDP. In Week 2, the article by Hartman (et. al.) states that “the trade-offs required to finance health care spending have become increasingly challenging for both private and public payers.”

Given what you have learned from the course material in Week 1 and 2, discuss these trade-offs and how to evaluate them from an economic perspective.

Specifically, do the following:

1. From an economic perspective, explain why health care spending cannot grow greater than overall growth in the economy for an extended period of time without adverse consequences.
   1. Identify what economic constraints overall and in the healthcare industry will occur if this happens.
2. Identify TWO Economic concepts that can be used to evaluate the trade-off between health care and other economic goods and services. In doing this:

• Define the economic concept completely
• Apply the economic concept to the current issue of rising health care spending and trade-offs

1. Evaluate the unique characteristics in health care that complicate this analysis.

This briefing report should be at least four double-spaced pages, include a reference page, and cover page. In writing, your report you should rely largely on reference material in the course readings and summary slides in Week 1 and Week 2.

Be sure to include your name and section headers corresponding to the parts of the report above.

The first text for this course is written by Mayer, “Everything Economics”.

Access the text via the following link (copy and paste into browser)

http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=418083&site=eds-live&scope=site&profile=edsebook

The second textbook is: Economic Theory Through Application

And can be found at:

https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economics-theory-through-applications/

This week Read: 1) Mayer Chapter 1: What is Economics?

2) Mayer Chapter 13: Keeping Score: The Gross Domestic Product

3) Economic Theory Through Applications Chapter 1: What is Economics? (p. 6-18)

https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economics-theory-through-applications/

4) Economic Theory Through Applications Chapter 2: Microeconomics in Action (p. 19-32)

1)Mayer Chapter 6: Supply and Demand

2) Economic Theory Through Application Chapter 4: Everyday Decisions (p. 54-90)

3) Economic Theory Through Application- Chapter 6.3 Supply and Demand (p. 202-213)

Chapter 7.2: Revenues of A Firm (p. 244- 62)

4) Health Economics and the Law of Demand (see under this week’s content below)

5) Monitoring Health Spending Increases: Incremental Budget Analyses Reveal Challenging Tradeoffs

https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-systems/Research/HealthCareFinancingReview/Downloads/06Fallpg41.pdf