Competency 1:Apply economic principles within the health care industry.

Competency 2:Apply concepts of financial accounting within the health care industry.

Competency 3:Analyze best practice in supply chain management for health care organizations.

Question 1:

• Official federal health care policy for the past 40 years has focused on market solutions, underlining the reliance on competition to improve quality and access and reduce costs. Has this economic policy been successful? Why or why not?

Question 2:

• There has been a focus on cost containment and cost reduction in health care for decades. What are some of the most prevalent cost reduction strategies in health care organizations? Health care costs have continued to rise in the United States to a level greater than any other country on a per capita basis. Why have cost containment efforts been ineffective in keeping total costs of health care down?