Health Care Cost And Consumption Patterns

Health Care Cost And Consumption Patterns

Health Care Cost and Consumption Patterns
Health insurance premiums are rising at an annual double-digit percentage rate. The sticker shock of rising premiums provides the strongest force for change (Miller, 2002, 2). This rising cost of health insurance is influenced by the continuing rising cost of health care. The increasing share of medical bills by third-party payers (insurance companies and government) cause patients to over use medical resources since those resources appear to be free or almost free (Liebowitz, 1994, 1). Medical equipment, devices, advanced drugs, and sophisticated test like the full body scan continue to raise the cost of medical care. The more or better available is what the public demands.
Economics according to the Merriam- Webster dictionary is a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services (Merriam & Webster, 2002). Health care is a service, a good being consumed at a rate causing a devouring of America?s resources, and responsible for a large percent of the gross national product. According to Scott Liebowitz a professor of managerial economics in the Management School of the University of Texas, attributes of

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