Exam 7: Paying for Health Care in America: Rising Costs and Challenges

An elderly person, age 80, is finding it difficult to live alone and the family is considering long-term care. The elderly person is reasonably healthy, with only normal aging declines, and maintains a healthy appetite. All medications are administered orally and require only minimal assistance. She is financially secure with an income based on retirement from both the military and factory from her deceased husband and herself. The family contacts long-term care and is told that, based on this patient's information:

In February 2010, Congress passed legislation to support universal health care for all Americans. At a local health fair, an individual asks about the difference between universal health care and a single payer system. The nurse explains the difference is that:

A client who is reading a newspaper asks, "This article about health care states that many providers of health care lack effectiveness. What is the difference between effectiveness and efficiency?" The nurse explains that:

A client is admitted with chest pain. A series of diagnostic tests are ordered, and the client undergoes coronary artery bypass grafting. The cost of care for this client is increased because of a four-pack-per-day smoking history that resulted in extension of the client's intensive care unit (ICU) stay by 3 days because of respiratory problems. The case manager realizes that under the terms of the diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment system for this diagnosis:

Health care is one of the major stories in newspaper and television and a group of nurses are interested in how the economy impacts their nursing practice. The group critiques the relationship between contemporary economic trends and professional nursing practice and finds:

Certain groups of individuals are opposed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) based on religious beliefs that prohibit circumcision and blood transfusions. These individuals believe the PPACA is unconstitutional because it: