In this assignment you will examine competitive market models and competitive forces in health care economics. Prices, supply and demand, quality of care, consumerism, and provider compensation are affected by the competitive forces found in health insurance and in the labor market. There is a direct relationship between insurance models, the labor market, and the financial performance of health care systems. You will write a paper about the economics of health care market models, health care delivery structures, provider compensation, and financial risk for health care systems.

Instructions

Write a 6–8-page paper in which you:

1. Analyze your state’s current competitive market model in health care. 
2. Compare and contrast the market power of monopolistic and monopsony markets in health care.
3. Analyze the main competitive forces and the major factors that influence the fundamental manner in which the competitive forces determine prices, supply and demand, quality of care, consumerism, and providers’ compensation.
4. Evaluate the positive benefits and negative aspects, respectively, of HMO-managed care from the provider’s point of view—i.e., a physician and a health care facility—and from a patient’s point of view. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Assess the efficiency of the types of economic incentives available to providers in the delivery of health care services in your own state.