Demand for Medical Care

A detailed Summary of Demand for Medical Care

The demand for medical care is derived from our demand for good health. Michael Grossman was the first to do econometric research on this topic. "Grossman's work established two approaches for consideration. In the first, medical care is viewed as an input in the production function for health, and in the second, as an output produced by medical care providers (Henderson, p.142)." There are two main factors that determine the demand for medical care. The first is the patient factor. This includes a patient's health status, demographic characteristics and economic status. The second is the physician factor. This is an interesting topic because it introduces the principal (patient)-agent (physician) problem. We are faced with the problem of diminishing marginal returns for health. At a certain point, we can only produce so much health. The question we need to ask ourselves is what is the optimal budget for medical care? This is a question that can not be easily answered due to our changing demand for medical care. If we get sick we demand more medical attention. Or, if we choose to live more dangerously this will also increase the demand. Therefore, who should pay for these increased costs for

medical insurance? "Medical care spending is not the only thing that improves health. Other factors affecting health status, such as life-style, environmental pollution, and technological developments, will shift the total product curve (TV)." Figure 4.1, on the next page graphically shows that health status obeys the Law of diminishing productivity. The graph below the total product curve is the marginal product curve. The derivative of the total product curve is the marginal product curve. This curve represents the marginal change in health status. You can see this curve is negatively sloped and can be negative. The maximum point on the total product curve is the total amount of health that we can get out of life. You may know from calculus that the slope of a line at a maximum or minimum is zero. If you look down on the corresponding point on the marginal product curve it lies on the x-axis. All medical treatment after this point is negative. What does this mean? Yes, medical treatment can be harmful to your health if too much is applied. A good example of this is an X-ray. The radiation from multiple X-rays is extremely dangerous. This negative area is called iatrogenic disease. The marginal contribution of health that you get when you allocate more of your resources into medical care is very small. This is a moral question that we need to answer is when do you stop? Thomas McKeown (1976) noticed that there was a secular decline in mortality rates. The quality of life was one of the major factors. There was an increase in income as well as education. The living standards and nutrition chipped in as well. The public health authorities improved sanitation. Which in return all lead to a decrease in diseases. An increase in technology also helped the cause. Diseases like cancer where slowed due to Chemotherapy and stricter regulations directed to corporations on dumping waste.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Thomas McKeown, Michael Grossman, Weiss Lecture, Henderson Physicians, TV Figure, medical care, demand medical, demand medical care, Medical Care, product curve, health status, total product curve, economic status, total product, produce health, marginal product curve, marginal product, patient factor, product curve marginal, curve marginal product, characteristics economic,

Approximate Word count = 1290
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous