AskEssays.com - Discover essay samples

Demand for Medical Care

4.9 of 5.0 (156 reviews)

Contains
648 words
Category
Other

Demand for Medical Care Page 1
Demand for Medical Care Page 2
The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

Demand for Medical Care


Demand for Medical Care

The demand for medical care is derived from our demand for good health. Michael Grossman was the first to do econometric research on this topic. 'Grossman's work established two approaches for consideration. In the first, medical care is viewed as an input in the production function for health, and in the second, as an output produced by medical care providers (Henderson, p.142).' There are two main factors that determine the demand for medical care. The first is the patient factor. This includes a patient's health status, demographic characteristics and economic status. The second is the physician factor. This is an interesting topic because it introduces the principal (patient)-agent (physician) problem. We are faced with the problem of diminishing marginal returns for health. At a certain point, we can only produce so much health. The question we need to ask ourselves is what is the optimal budget for medical care? This is a question that can not be easily answered due to our changing demand for medical care. If we get sick we demand more medical attention. Or, if we choose to live more dangerously this will also increase the demand. Therefore, who should pay for these increased costs for medical insurance? 'Medical care spending is not the only thing that improves health. Other factors affecting health status, such as life-style, environmental pollution, and technological developments, will shift the total product curve (TV).' Figure 4.1, on the next page graphically shows that health status obeys the Law of diminishing productivity. The graph below the total product curve is the marginal product curve. The derivative of the total product curve is the marginal product curve. This curve represents the marginal change in health status. You can see this curve is negatively sloped and can be negative. The maximum point on the total product curve is the total amount of health that we can get out of life. You may know from calculus that the slope of a line at a maximum or minimum is zero. If you look down on the corresponding point on the marginal product curve it lies on the x-axis. All medical treatment after this point is negative. What does this mean? Yes, medical treatment can be harmful to your health if too much is applied. A good example of this is an X-ray. The radiation from multiple X-rays is extremely dangerous. This negative area is called iatrogenic disease. The marginal contribution of health that you get when you allocate more of your resources into medical care is very small. This is a moral question that we need to answer is when do you stop? Thomas McKeown (1976) noticed that there was a secular decline in mortality rates. The quality of life was one of the major factors. There was an increase in income as well as education. The living standards and nutrition chipped in as well. The public health authorities improved sanitation. Which in return all lead to a decrease in diseases. An increase in technology also helped the cause. Diseases like cancer where slowed due to Chemotherapy and stricter regulations directed to corporations on dumping waste. (Henderson p.145) Genetics also play a major role in determining our health. Half of your genes come from your father and the other half from your mother. 'There are two factors that play a critical role in determining the health of an individual: the risk of exposure to a particular disease and the ability of the individual to resist the disease (and recover from its consequences) once exposed (Henderson p.144).' If your father has high blood pressure then his siblings are susceptible to high blood pressure too. Now we will look at the determinants in the demand for medical care. Henderson defines demand as the sacrifice an individual is willing to make in order ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 648 words of 1295.

Keywords: demand for medical care by the elderly, demand for health care pdf, demand for health care ppt, demand for health care is not, demand for health care definition, demand for health care workers, request for medical care, demand for health care and insurance

Similar essays


Sociology an overview

Sociology-an overview Sociology is the study of people and thier relationships and behavior in groups. Sociology studies how and why people of certain groups possess certain characteristics. Sociologists feel that human behavior possesses truths that can be discovered. They also study defferent types of groups stemming from the largest, a soci...

102 reviews
Download
Television 2

The impact that television (A.K.A.- TV) has had on mankind in the last 50 years, is rivaled by few other inventions throughout modern history. Recently television has been given a bad wrap, seen by many people as a cruel invention, a ?boob-tube? mesmerizing and brainwashing its viewers. People have forgotten TV is an educational and entertainin...

6 reviews
Download
Why murder

Why Murder? In the short story ?A Rose For Emily? and the short story ?Killings? people have been murdered and the motivations for the killings are understandable but never the less still murders. The reason for murder in ?A Rose For Emily? is not as clearly shown as with ?Killings?, that story is a classic ?eye for an eye? type story. T...

103 reviews
Download
Italy 2

Italy Italy is most likely known for its rich cultural heritage and its unique natural beauty. Its cities have spectacular churches and beautiful central plazas. Their museums contain some of the world's best-known art. Italy got its name from the ancient Romans. Romans called the southernmost part of the peninsula Italia, which means land...

120 reviews
Download
Independent Study Project On Role Playing Games

What are Role Playing Games? Quite simply, RPG's are games where YOU assume the role of a different person. Then, you with other adventurers, must play that role in the setting in which the game takes place. Playing and RPG is much like acting, only you don't know what is going to come next. RPG's utilize at least 3 players. One, cal...

120 reviews
Download
Abortion roe v

Abortion: roe v. wade ABORTION Abortion has always been an extremely controversial issue. There are, and will probably always be many different views concerning the ethical acceptability as well as the social policy aspects of abortion. In fact, before the decision made in the famous court case of Roe v. Wade, abortion was morally wrong and...

162 reviews
Download
Christianity and love versus r

Christianity and Love versus the Reality Many of us have an ideal picture of what our future looks like. It is a picture that is filled with hopes, dreams, happiness and loves. We do what we do now to complete our picture of the future as fully and as fast as possible. Many of us believe in God. We convince ourselves that God will guide u...

199 reviews
Download
Firefighters

Clayton County Fire & Emergency Services Fire Officer I Program Date: April 30, 2012 Topic: Chapter 1: Transition to the Role of Company Officer Student's Name: Robert P. Turner In becoming a company officer there are many challenges that will arise, both wanted and unwanted. The transition is not only just a title it is a mental change, as well...

26 reviews
Download
Psychopathology Assignment - M

In order for one to fully understand the term ?madness?, we first need to show what the word really means. After looking through numerous definitions and asking others on their views, the definition from the oxford dictionary seemed to sum up the general thoughts of my family and friends. ??a departure from what is normal or accepted, a moral or me...

211 reviews
Download
Psychology book report

The Boy who couldn?t stop Washing written by DR. Judith Rapoport, published by Penguin books in 1989, containing 292 pages, deals with obsessive compulsive disorder. Dr. Rapoport is a psychiatrist who specializes in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this, book she reveals new drug treatments, new methods in diagnosis and behaviorist thera...

192 reviews
Download
Before the Law

Part 1 Summary Step One: A man from the country tries to gain entrance through a gate where a gatekeeper stops him. Step Two: A gatekeeper stands by the gate, where he is guarding the law. From the country a man approaches trying to enter through the gate. The gatekeeper denies the man from the country access. He is then told he can enter...

179 reviews
Download
Vampires

have been seen and documented throughout history. The history of goes further back in time than most people realize. The chaldeans, who lived near the Euphrates river in the southwestern part of Asia more than five hundred years before the time of Christ , feared vampire or creatures similar to vampires enough so that they created charms to protec...

37 reviews
Download
Long distance realtionship are

Long Distance Relationships Can Be Painful: But They Don't Have to Be I have fallen into a problem that many people have had to deal with during some part of their life, some more than others have. Long-distance relationships are hard on the heart, hard on the soul, and hard on the self. Many men and women meet in places that neither of...

122 reviews
Download
Internet Tax

The sign at Wal-Mart says, "99 Cents." Although, if you go through the checkout line and greet the cashier with merely a dollar, the cashier would laugh at you. The price isn't ninety-nine cents, it's $1.06. The taxman at our friendly Raymore Wal-Mart claims an additional 7.45% of one's hard earned dollars. The additional seven cents doesn't sound...

71 reviews
Download
Atsisiųsti šį darbą