QUIZ: What’s Behind Rising Health Care Costs?
So there are a lot of theories about what’s been causing health care costs to steadily rise - faster than the rate of inflation and people’s salaries!
Can you tell which claims are true and which are false? And which are both true AND false?
Take this quiz and find out! [Click your answer choice to reveal the correct answer and more information.]
#1 CLAIM: Those without insurance, or not enough insurance, are to blame for rising health care costs.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = C. True and False
Those without insurance, or not enough insurance, do contribute to rising health care costs. = TRUE
The only thing causing high costs is the number of uninsured. = FALSE
Costs rise independent of who has insurance and who does not due to inflation, new technologies, administrative overhead, etc.
For more on the part that insurance plays in health care costs, go here. |
#2 CLAIM: People do not take responsibility for their own health. They use doctor visits, ER visits and prescription drugs as a substitute.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = C. True and False
It would help if people took better care of themselves. = TRUE
People are getting too much care. = FALSE
The real problem is not people getting too much care but people not getting the right care.
For more on how the care people do and don’t take affects their health, go here. |
#3 CLAIM: Medical errors and poor quality are increasing costs.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = A. True
Our health care delivery system is seriously flawed and full of human error, with few system-wide checks and balances in place to keep it from getting worse.
For more on how poor quality affects our health care costs, go here. |
#4 CLAIM: Malpractice lawsuits are increasing costs but are a necessary part of keeping doctors in check and preventing future harm.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = B. False
Mistakes and inadequate care add their own costs to the system, costs that malpractice lawsuits do not prevent. We need to work to improve the health care system to try to prevent these painful mistakes and lawsuits altogether.
For more on how lawsuits affect our health care costs, go here. |
#5 CLAIM: Advances in medical science are increasing costs.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = C. True and False
All the new drugs and technologies that keep us alive longer cost a lot of money. = TRUE
All the new drugs and technologies that keep us alive longer cost a lot of money. = FALSE
Technology does add cost in some cases, and decrease it in others, and the outcomes are not always measurable or measured.
For more on how technology affects health care costs, go here. |
#6 CLAIM: Hospital care, due to its nature, is bound to drive up costs.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = B. False
Hundreds of billions of dollars go to hospital care every year, much of it needed to cover the management and administration costs of running large, technologically advanced facilities. But these administrative costs have actually been dropping in recent years and hospitals are using their power to get higher reimbursements from insurers. So what accounts for the bigger bills? In some cases, fraud, in some cases mismanagement.
For more on how hospitals contribute to health care costs, go here. |
#7 CLAIM:Insurance companies help control costs by managing healthcare.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = B. False
Insurance companies developed as a way to pool risk and manage health care delivery in order to keep a lid on costs and make health care affordable for anyone who might need it. But insurance companies have their own profits in mind - profits that expand as treatments are denied and doctors’ pay is cut. Just administering these companies adds its own costs to the system.
For more on how insurance companies affect health care costs, go here. |
#8 CLAIM: The increasing use of better and more expensive prescription drugs is driving up costs.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = C. True and False
Americans are using more drugs than ever before. = TRUE
New drugs on the market are better than those in existence; climbing prices reflect increasing quality. = FALSE
More and more drugs for illnesses that were previously untreatable are entering the market. Not all of these “new” drugs are actual improvements on existing medicines, but that hasn’t stopped drug companies from raising their prices. The drug industry is one of the most profitable in the country, if not the world.
For more on how drug use and pricing affect health care costs, go here. |
#9 CLAIM: Doctors are charging too much in order to have huge salaries.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = B. False
Certainly, most doctors make a nice living. But it varies tremendously depending on the type of medicine they practice. Surgeons and specialists make much more than your average family physician. The average family doctor’s salary is declining, resulting in shortages in the fields of family medicine, geriatrics and pediatrics.
For more on how doctors’ salaries affect health care costs, go here. |
#10 CLAIM: Administrative costs are a huge drain on the system.
a. true
b. false
c. true and false
ANSWER = A. True
Overhead - the necessary costs of keeping records and paying staff - are eating into the profits of health care providers, drug companies and insurers alike. In fact whole systems have been developed just to deal with these costs alone. Some of this is unavoidable in a country that relies on insurance companies as “middle men” in negotiating the price of health care and drugs. But some costs come from the resources spent on lobbying and marketing - costs that go towards boosting profits rather than boosting care.
For more on how administrative costs affect overall health care costs, go here. |
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