ECON312N Week 3 Discussion Latest 2019 September

ECON312N
Principles of Economics

Week 3
Discussion

Concepts of Cost and
Prices Under Different Market Structures

Required Resources

Read/review the
following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 10,
11

Lesson

Minimum of 1 scholarly
source (other than the article noted in the instructions)

Initial Post
Instructions

For the initial post,
address the following:

List and briefly
explain the features of a Perfectly Competitive market structure. How do firms
in a Perfectly Competitive market determine price and profit-maximizing output
levels?

According to
Papanicolas, Woskie, and Jha (2018), the main drivers of the cost of healthcare
in the U.S are “labor and goods, including pharmaceuticals and devices, and
administrative costs” (Conclusions and Relevance). If you were the Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) of a large medical facility, what cost-cutting measures
would you propose to address the excessive cost of operating the facility while
maintaining quality of care?

Journal of American
Medical Association (JAMA): Special Communication: Question: Why is health care
spending in the United States so much greater than in other high-income
countries?

Findings: In 2016, the
United States spent nearly twice as much as 10 high-income countries on medical
care and performed less well on many population health outcomes. Contrary to
some explanations for high spending, social spending and health care
utilization in the United States did not differ substantially from other
high-income nations. Prices of labor and goods, including pharmaceuticals and
devices, and administrative costs appeared to be the main drivers of the
differences in spending.

Meaning: Efforts
targeting utilization alone are unlikely to reduce the growth in health care
spending in the United States; a more concerted effort to reduce prices and
administrative costs is likely needed.