Category: Economics : Economics

Part I
Consider the four health plans below with an eye to choosing one to offer to the company’s employees. Assume that the health plans and their annual per employee premiums are as follows:
Health Plan
Premium, Individual
Premium, Family
Aetna Health
$4,555
$11,428
MetroPlus
$4,267
$10,540
Empire
$4,217
$10,767
Oxford
$6,029
$13,417
The employer will pay 80% of the premium for individual coverage, and the employee will pay the remaining 20% as well as the entire additional premium for family coverage. (The premiums listed above, while realistic in magnitude, are hypothetical and computed solely for the purpose of this project.) All of the plans are managed care plans. Assume that the benefit package is the same across all plans, so there is no difference between them in what services are covered.
In addition to the above data, click here to access the latest report for ‘Health Plan Comparison in New York State’. Review the online report and incorporate relevant information into your evaluation.
You can view the various categories of measures on which health plans are rated (e.g., Access to Care, Adult Living with Illness, etc.). Click each link for a summary chart that presents the performance (usually as a percentage score) of each plan in the group on the relevant measures and how each plan compares to regional and statewide scores.
Provide an analysis that outlines the plan you selected and why. Generally, you would select the plan with the highest score, but if you chose a plan with a lower score, explain why. Include the following elements in your analysis:
Explain which factors (e.g., price and/or performance measures) were most important to your choice of plan and how you derived the weights for each factor you used.
Indicate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how comfortable or confident you are that you made the right choice, with 10 being most confident.
Part II
You need to use the multi-attribute utility (MAU) technique to respond to the following questions. Although the technique can be performed with pencil and paper, it is recommended you use a Microsoft Excel to do the various calculations involved.
Click the following links to access the information on using the MAU technique:
MAU Model
MAU Example
Compare your level of confidence at the time you completed Part I to your confidence level for Part II, when you used this decision aid.
Was it helpful? What were its advantages and disadvantages?
Did it make the decision harder to make or easier to justify?
Resource:
Hahn, W.J., Seaman, S.L., & Bikel, R. (2012). Making decisions with multiple attributes. Retrieved from http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2012/08/making-decisions-with-multiple-attributes-a-case-in-sustainability-planning/

U.S. health care spending grew 3.6 percent in 2013, reaching $2.9 trillion or $9,255 per person.  As a share of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.4 percent.
Using the above information and other information you will be directed to below, do the following:
Define the economic principle of opportunity cost.
Locate current GDP expenditures and express the percentages in a graph or a chart. 
Explain whether spending 17.4% of GDP is too much or too little to spend on healthcare.
Defend your position using the concept of opportunity cost and highlight specific GDP expenditures that are impacted by healthcare expenditure (opportunity cost).
Resource:
Hartman, M., Martin A. B., Benson, J., Catlin, A., & The National Health Expenditure Accounts Team (2011). National health spending in 2011. Health Affairs, 32(1), 87-99. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1206. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23297275.

Market Structures
[WLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Prior to the Week 4 assignment, read Chapters 9, 10, and 11 in your textbook. Select one realworld company to use for the Week 4 assignment.
In your paper,
Distinguish among four market structures: perfect competition, monopolistic competition,
oligopoly, and monopoly in this order.
Identify your company’s market structure (i.e., perfect competition, monopolistic competition,
oligopoly, and monopoly).
Explain your reasoning.
Examine whether competitive pressures are present in your company’s industry with high
barriers to entry.
Evaluate how high barriers to entry into the industry may influence your company’s long-run
profitability.
Explain the price elasticity of demand in your company’s market structure and its effect on your
company’s pricing decision.
The Market Structures paper
Must be three to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages)
and formatted according to APA Style (https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/apa-style) as outlined in
the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft Word
(https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/apa-formatting-microsoft-word)
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
Student’s name
Name of institution (University of Arizona Global Campus)
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Due date
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice
(https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/academic-voice) resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to
end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions
(https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/introductions-conclusions) as well as Writing a Thesis
Statement (https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/writing-a-thesis) , refer to the Writing Center
resources.
Must use at least three scholarly and/or credible sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources
(https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/e5359309-7d3c-4a21-a410-
44d59303ccef/1/Scholarly%20Peer-Reviewed%20and%20Other%20Credible%20Sources.pdf)
table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about
whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor.
Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a
particular assignment.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view the Quick and
Easy Library Research
(https://ashford.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Ashford+University+Library+Quick+%27n%27+D
tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research
process, and provides some library search tips.
Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing
Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/apa-citing-withinyour-paper)
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in
the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References List
(https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/format-your-reference-list) resource in the Writing Center for
specifications.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric
(http://au.waypointoutcomes.com/assessment/33559/preview) for the criteria that will be used to
evaluate your assignment.