Essentials of Health Policy and Law 2nd Edition by Joel Teitelbaum,Sara Wilensky

Exercise 1

Consider each issue below and discuss whether you support Theory X, Theory Y, neither theory, or some combination of them.
Issue
Theory X
Theory Y
Your view about how an individual's health is determined
Whether a person is healthy or sick is determined randomly.
Whether a person is healthy or sick depends on lifestyle choices such as whether a person smokes, drinks, or wears a seatbelt.
Your view of medical practice
Medicine is a science, and experts will ultimately discover the best means for treating every illness.
Medicine is an art and there will never be one best way to treat every illness because illnesses are often patient-specific and because there will always be demand for lower-cost and less painful treatments.
Your view of medical care
Medical care is a unique commodity.
Medical care is similar to any other good or service.
Your view of the government's role in health care
Government regulations are necessary to protect this unique commodity, to control profiteering at the cost of patient care, to control the resources spent on health care, and to improve information sharing.
Government regulations are not necessary, technological advances and more services are desirable, and competition, not regulation, should drive the market.
Source: Gerald L. Musgrave. Health Economics Outlook: Two Theories of Health Economics. Bus Econ. 1995;30:7-13.