ATI RN
Future Economic Needs of the US Healthcare System Questions
Question 1 of 5
Why did employers decide to offer health insurance as an employee benefit?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The idea of paying a small fee for guaranteed health care to have sickness cured was very popular. Health care providers liked knowing they would receive payment for their services. During World War II, faced with a limited workforce and governmental restrictions on wages, employers began to see health insurance as a means of supplying workers' benefits without granting a wage increase. Teachers were not demanding insurance as a benefit. Hospitals and physicians continued to provide charity care as they were able. Society understood that they needed to pay for health services; however, businesses realized that providing insurance was a way to keep their needed workforce.
Question 2 of 5
Which action would be the least expensive approach to treating chronic diseases?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The five leading causes of death and illness can be positively affected by changes in lifestyle. Healthy lifestyles can modify or even prevent most chronic illnesses. Seeking care at a neighborhood health clinic, producing media campaigns, and engaging in self-therapies are all more expensive approaches to treating chronic diseases than choosing healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Question 3 of 5
Which best describes why so many Americans continue to engage in unhealthy behaviors?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Society sees insurance as an economic shield protecting against all disease and illness. The belief in cure rather than prevention, combined with this financial safety net, encourages society to become a passive participant in health care. The pervasive societal thought is 'I don't have to worry; I have insurance.' Americans are aware of which behaviors are unhealthy, have knowledge on how to change their behavior, and are concerned about health, but insurance has allowed them to take a passive approach to health.
Question 4 of 5
Which was a major change after Medicare began a prescription drug benefit?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: As with other health care services, once a funding source has been established, usage and costs increase. Thus, the number of prescriptions ordered increased. For 2016, the U.S. expenditure for pharmaceuticals was about 10% of health care expenditures, and these expenditures continue to rise.
Question 5 of 5
Which action would help decrease the total health care costs in the United States?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The billions of dollars spent on health care and struggles for control between providers, consumers, and health care organizations have increased the risk of fraud and abuse. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that health care fraud costs the U.S. tens of billions of dollars annually. Thus, decreasing the fraud and abuse in the system would have the largest impact over any of the other proposed actions.