The health industry is composed of various services that aimto maintain good health of human beings. The nature of the assorted services in the sector makes it hard for the government to intervene and control the pricing of these services(Feldstein, 2015). It is at this point, where the economic forces play their role in controlling the pricing in the health sector services.
The forces operate based on demand and supply of patients and the physicians. In cases where the patients are more than the number of patients available, there is a likely hood for prices to increase and the vice versa is true. Physicians who come together to form a group to influence the pricing of the services might seem to act out of greed for money, but in the real sense they are in a position to provide better care and referrals compared to those working individually. Such a group acts like an oligopoly in an effort to stabilize the pricing in healthcare(Auer, & Schoenle, 2016).
In an economy where some actors are able to influence prises, there bound to be some victims. Physicians who operate solely suffer the negative effect of the stabilized prices due to their high costof operation. It is due to this case that most of them deliver substandard health services.
However, in every economic setup different individuals share different values hence the reason why some group physicians may deliver multi-disciplinary services while other deliver specialized services. The same case others deliver quality while other do not. Such differences end up breaking the oligopoly in this case the group of physicians.
There are many advantages associated with forming a group of physicians. A group of physicians are able to utilize the economies of scale thereby reducing the operation cost and increase profits without making their services worse off. For instance, the services provided at the hospital and those provided by private clinics are very different from each other. The group of doctors has a better bargaining power compared to the single practitioner(Garcia, Foley, & Akuthota, 2017). These doctors pool their resources together and are able to provide better facilities and services to the patient. In addition, the patient is able to access all the services under one roof as compared to the single practitioner who offers only one service(Guterman, 2017). Therefore, services are deemed more expensive when a patient goes toa group of physicians since they have to cater to the operating costs.
On the other hand, the group of physicians is likely to be recognized by the insurance and the government. This means that it will offer services to insured patients and pay higher taxes. However, the cost is minimized as it is distributed among the members of the group. In addition, the cost of attending to patients is greatly reduced due to the economies of scale. That is conducting several operations and services under one premise.
References:
Auer, R.,& Schoenle, R. (2016). Market structure and exchange rate pass-through. Journal of International Economics, 98, 60-77.
Feldstein, P. (2015). Health policy issues: an economic perspective (6th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Health Administration Press.
Garcia, M., Foley, B., & Akuthota, V. (2017). Single-specialty versus multi-specialty group employment. PM&R, 1(9), 878-880. doi:10.1016/j.pmrj.2009.08.450
Guterman, S. (2017). Making Health Care Markets Work Better: The Role of Regulation | Commonwealth Fund. [online] Commonwealthfund.org. Available at: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2017/making-health-care-markets-work-better-role-regulation
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download