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¶ … economic tools and concepts which can be applied in the contemporary issues and typical, dynamic situations that are existent in today's health care industry. There have been numerous economic changes in the economy of the United States which in turn have come to have an impact and fashioned the current trends in the health care of the nation. These include economic aspects such as the financial recession which have had an impact on consumer patterns which in turn influences the level of demand for health care. For instance, most dental practitioners are private doctors and therefore the consumers make appointments as much as they wish. This implies that as a result of aspects such as recessions, the consumers will cut down their appointments unless they are urgent or in case of emergencies (Keegan et al., 2013).
In the same manner, recession affects the level of demand as it brings about the loss of health care coverage for several individuals as well as their households who are covered through employer arrangements. One of the most discussed topics in the health care sector are the reforms in the sector that have influenced healthcare costs significantly in the United States. The legislations that have been passed and the reforms instituted have brought plenty of discussion on the aspect of the quality of health care and the health care costs. This paper will employ demand curves, supply curves as well as marginal analysis as economic concepts and tools to undertake an analysis of health care costs between the United States and Europe.
Demand and Supply
These tools and concepts aptly measure and analyze impact of high costs on health care. The diagram below illustrates the health care...
The first diagram shows that the level of demand in the U.S. is high while the second diagram shows that the level of supply in the U.S. is restricted or limited
The diagram properly illustrates that there is a higher level of demand for health care in the United States whereas for Europe the level of supply is restricted for both aspects. However, as Schmitz (2012), observes, neither aspect argued appears to be that convincing which makes it possible to question whether the context of supply and demand is comprehensive enough to make an analysis of health care.
In order to show that the aspects of demand and supply cannot comprehensively apply in health care it is imperative to analyze thoroughly to see how dissimilar it is in contrast to traditional models of business. The common perspective or understanding of demand is centered on the notion that every person will consume a certain good or service to the extent where the marginal value of an addition unit is equivalent to the price of such an extra unit (Schmitz, 2012). Here, however, the point of contention is that the consumer does not comprehend the value or worth of the treatment and health care that they receive. In numerous instances, the consumer does not pay the total price as a result of insurance. The common perspective of demand is somewhat skewed with regards to health care as opposed to other sectors.
The same case applies to supply. Here, too, we observe that the differences arise because the market structures in the U.S. And in Europe are different as a number of health care suppliers have substantial market power. However, this does not imply that we cannot…
References
Gold, S. (2011). How European nations run national health services. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2015 from: http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2011/may/11/european-healthcare-services-belgium-france-germany-sweden
Kowalczyk, G., Freeland, M., & Levit, K. (1988). Using marginal analysis to evaluate health spending trends. Health care financing review, 10(2), 123-129.
Rosenbaum, S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: implications for public health policy and practice. Public Health Reports, 126(1), 130.
Schmitz, A. (2012). Supply and Demand in Health-Care Markets, Theory and Applications of Economics. Retrieved 19 August 2015 from: http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/theory-and-applications-of-economics/s20-01-supply-and-demand-in-health-ca.html
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